Eighth-ranked David Ferrer on Sunday clinched his 26th career tournament win after rallying to defeat Steve Johnson of the US 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 at the Erste Bank Open.
The top-seeded Spaniard also improved to 5-0 in finals this season after also winning in Doha, Rio de Janeiro, Acapulco and Kuala Lumpur.
The victory has all but secured him a spot at next month’s season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London.
Photo: EPA
“I am glad for all the support in my second final in Vienna,” said Ferrer, who was beaten for the title by Andy Murray a year ago. “[I] am 33 years old. I hope I have two more years to go.”
The 47th-ranked Johnson, who was playing in his maiden final, made it hard work for his Spanish opponent.
“I am sure you will win ATP tournaments,” Ferrer said to his opponent after the match.
The US player said he looked back at “an amazing week” and acknowledged that Ferrer deserved the win, as “he played fantastic all week.”
“It was such a great event for me,” Johnson said. “Hopefully this was not my last speech on the ATP tour.”
A Redondo Beach, California, native, 25-year-old Johnson is in his fourth season as a professional. He reached a career-high 37th in March last year.
Johnson took a quick 3-0 lead in Sunday’s final. He lost serve at 4-2, but broke Ferrer again at 5-4 to close out the first set. Three straight breaks at the start gave Ferrer an early advantage in the second.
The final set went with serve until Johnson led 5-4 before Ferrer won the last three games.
STOCKHOLM OPEN
Top-seeded Tomas Berdych on Sunday won the Stockholm Open for a third time, beating Jack Sock of the US 7-6 (7/1), 6-2 in the final.
Berdych did not drop a set in the tournament and secured his second title of the year after winning in Shenzhen last month.
Sock was up a break in the first set, but failed to serve it out at 5-4, and Berdych then dominated the tiebreaker. The Czech player did not face a break point in the second set, winning all 12 points on his first serve.
Berdych, who had already qualified for the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals, said: “I’ve definitely built up a good history here, which always helps... Sometimes you find a place in the world that suits you well, and it’s the case here.”
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