Top seed Rafael Nadal won the Hamburg clay-court title on Sunday — a much-needed confidence boost after a slump in form — beating Italian eighth seed Fabio Fognini 7-5, 7-5.
Nadal had been beaten twice previously this season by the experienced Fognini, in Rio de Janeiro and then in Barcelona.
He gained his revenge in the northern German city, recovering from being broken in the first game of a tight opening set and eventually clinching the title on his first match point after more than two-and-a-half hours on court.
Photo: AP
Nadal has now won the Hamburg title twice after success in 2008 — his previous appearance — and has 47 clay-court titles.
“I had some cramps, which wasn’t very pleasant,” 29-year-old Nadal said. “I lost the last two times against him, so I knew it was going to be a tough one. I think I had a great attitude the whole match, very positive, fighting for every ball. I had some tough moments on court, lost opportunities, but every time I came back and I kept fighting with the right mentality.”
“I’m very happy for the victory,” he said. “It is an important victory for me.”
Nadal now heads for the US hard-court season with the US Open, the season’s last Grand Slam tournament, starting in New York on Aug. 31.
It has been a tough year for the former world No. 1, who lost his French Open title in June before seeing his world ranking slump to 10, his lowest in a decade.
“Now the hard-court season is starting, it’s a different story, but at the same time, I’ll keep going with the same mentality and this title helps to be a little bit more calm and add some points to my ranking to try to finish the year in the top eight again,” he said.
ATLANTA OPEN
Reuters
Top seed John Isner cruised to his third consecutive Atlanta Open title when he beat hobbled Marcos Baghdatis in straight sets in the final on Sunday.
Isner took almost exactly an hour to dispose of Baghdatis 6-3, 6-3 on a hot afternoon on the outdoor hard court in Georgia.
The tall American used his biggest weapon, dropping just three points on serve, to secure his 10th ATP title.
It was hardly a fair fight, though, because Baghdatis’ movement was hampered from the start by what he said later was an old abductor injury that flared up.
Baghdatis got slower as the match progressed and an injury time-out after the first set did not help matters. He barely went through the motions in the second set, but did not forfeit the match.
“I didn’t want to win like that,” Isner, 30, said at the on-court victory presentation. “I hope you’re back healthy and back on tour in just a little bit. You’re a class act and I enjoyed playing you today.”
“I feel at home on this court. I play so well here,” Isner said.
Fifth seed Baghdatis, in his first final since 2011, apologized to the crowd.
“That’s not the way I wanted to finish a tournament, but my body couldn’t handle it today, so I’m really sorry I couldn’t compete 100 percent, but I tried my best,” the Cypriot said.
He later told reporters he that had been battling the injury since before the ATP event in Nottingham, England, in June, where he forfeited his semi-final.
“I played five matches this week,” he said. “The good thing is that it’s nothing serious.”
The 30-year-old, a losing finalist at the 2006 Australian Open, has not won an ATP event since 2010.
Isner said he was glad to be back on his best surface after a summer stint on the clay of Europe and English grass.
“It’s my favorite surface, hard court like this that bounces pretty high,” he said.
SWISS OPEN
AP, GSTAAD, Switzerland
Dominic Thiem of Austria won his second straight title on Sunday, beating top-seeded David Goffin of Belgium 7-5, 6-2 in the Swiss Open final.
The 24th-ranked Thiem added the Swiss trophy to the Croatia Open he won one week earlier. Thiem’s run of three clay-court titles this season started in April in Nice, France.
In a match of nine service breaks, 14th-ranked Goffin won four straight games in the first set and served with a 5-4 lead.
The third-seeded Thiem dropped serve to open the second set, but closed out the match in a little under 90 minutes.
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