Australia’s Alex de Minaur on Sunday captured his second ATP Tour title in dominant style, dropping just 10 points on serve in a 6-3, 7-6 (7/2) triumph over Taylor Fritz in a battle of rising stars in Atlanta, Georgia.
Third seed De Minaur, 20, became just the third player to win a title without facing a break point since the ATP Tour began keeping statistics in 1991.
German Tommy Haas did it in Memphis in 2007 and John Isner of the US managed the feat in Newport, Rhode Island, in 2017.
Photo: AP
More importantly, De Minaur cemented his return from a groin injury that sidelined him for nearly two months after he claimed his maiden victory in Sydney in January.
“This one is really special to me,” said De Minaur, who improved to 15-4 on hard courts this season with the US Open looming next month. “I felt like I really needed this. To start the year with a bang and then be slowed down by injuries ... you expect your level to be right there once you come back, but you have to slowly grind your way back. I’ve been playing great tennis and felt like if I could keep it all together, the good results will come. This is a week that will really help me out.”
Second seed Fritz, 21, moved up to a career-high ranking of 28th in the world despite the defeat.
“It was a good week,” Fritz said. “It’s my first time being one of the top seeds and I made it to the final. It hurts so much to lose a final, but I’m still confident and will keep moving forward.”
The US’ bid for a fourth consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title came to a stunning end as they fell 1-0 to Panama after a stoppage-time goal from Cecilio Waterman on Thursday in Inglewood, California. Despite dominating possession, the US struggled to break down a resilient Panama side for long periods. Panama spent the bulk of the match defending, but pounced on a giveaway by the US before substitute forward Waterman sent a shot from the right side of the area to the bottom left corner late in stoppage time. Up next for Panama in tomorrow’s final is to be Mexico, who beat
DOMINATION: McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris took the first two spots as Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen followed them Australian Oscar Piastri yesterday roared back from season-opening disappointment in his home race by winning the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix from pole position in a McLaren one-two with championship-leading teammate Lando Norris. George Russell finished third for Mercedes, ahead of Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Saturday’s sprint winner Lewis Hamilton fifth and sixth respectively. Piastri’s win denied Norris a third victory in a row, including last year’s Abu Dhabi season-ender, but left champions McLaren unbeaten in two races so far this year. “Mega job guys. The car was very, very lovely,” Piastri said
TO FINAL FOUR: France had 22 chances and scored two goals, while Croatia could not manage a single shot on target in 120 minutes. Les Bleus won 5-4 on penalties France on Sunday overturned a two-goal deficit to qualify for the UEFA Nations League Final Four by eliminating Croatia 5-4 on penalties after a 2-0 victory in their quarter-final second leg at the Stade de France. Dayot Upamecano scored the winning spot kick in a nail-biting shootout in which France keeper Mike Maignan made two saves, sending Les Bleus into the semi-finals against Spain. Michael Olise opened the scoring and Ousmane Dembele doubled their lead 10 minutes from time to send the tie into extra time after their 2-0 loss in Split, Croatia, on Thursday. France had a total of
Armand Duplantis will be among the reigning Olympic champions adding star power to the world indoor championships this weekend when the Chinese city of Nanjing hosts the first major global athletics meet since the Paris Games last year. The three-day event was originally slated for 2020 and faced multiple postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Nanjing’s Sports Training Center would finally welcome more than 570 athletes for the start of the showpiece today. One of the main attractions would be pole vaulter “Mondo” Duplantis, who soared 6.27m to break the world record for a staggering 11th time in Clermont-Ferrand last
RSS