2018 in review: Alexander Zverev and Fabio Fognini earn important points
* ATP 250 Bastad: Fabio Fognini (ITA) vs Richard Gasquet (FRA) 6-3 3-6 6-1
World number 15 and the 3rd seed in Bastad Fabio Fognini claimed his seventh ATP title and the second of the season after a 6-3 3-6 6-1 win over the 4th seed Richard Gasquet in an hour and 47 minutes. This was their fourth meeting and only the first after Monte Carlo 2013 and the Italian earned the second win over the Frenchman after saving his best tennis for the most important set. Fognini served at 72% and he saved five out of eight break points he faced, creating 11 break chances on the other side and converting five to control the scoreboard in the sets he won.
Competing in his 31st ATP final, Richard opened the match with a backhand down the line winner that gave him an early break, cementing it with a hold at love in game two for a 2-0 lead. Fognini was back on the level terms when Gasquet netted a forehand in game four and he broke again at 3-2 to rattle off four straight games and forge a solid advantage. The Italian held at love in games seven and nine, closing the set with a great forehand attack that caused an error from Gasquet for a 6-3. The Frenchman saved three break points at the start of the second set and he took control in the middle of the set, breaking Fabio in games four and six to open up a 5-2 lead after a service winner in game seven.
Serving for the set in game nine, Richard hit a service winner to bring it home and force a deciding set where he should have had the momentum. Instead of that, Fognini recovered his shots and he broke Gasquet in game two to move 4-1 ahead after three solid holds. A forehand winner from Fabio delivered another break for him in game six and he served for the title in the game that followed. Richard was there to fight until the very last point, creating a break chance with a backhand down the line winner, only to be denied by an ace from Fognini.
The Italian converted the fourth match point when Gasquet's forehand landed long, adding another clay title to his collection and heading to Gstaad in a great spirit after celebrating there 12 months ago.
* ATP 500 Hamburg: Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO) vs Leonardo Mayer (ARG) 6-4 0-6 7-5
The 26-year-old Nikoloz Basilashvili arrived in Hamburg after losing the last three matches on the Tour and he had to qualify just to reach the main draw. A week ago, he trailed 5-3 in the deciding set against Jurgen Melzer before he turned the tables to earn the place in the main draw and the rest is history for this calm and quiet Georgian who defeated the defending champion Leonardo Mayer 6-4 0-6 7-5 in the final to lift his maiden ATP trophy. Nikoloz is the first Georgian with an ATP title and also the 10th different first-time champion on the Tour this season, the fourth who celebrated as a qualifier.
Basilashvili had lost the first two ATP finals he entered in Kitzbuhel 2016 and Memphis last year and he earned an ATP title after toppling Philipp Kohlschreiber, Pablo Cuevas, Pablo Carreno Busta, Nicolas Jarry and Leonard Mayer, suffering a bagel in the semis and the final but emerging as a winner despite all that! Thanks to that second set, Mayer claimed five points more than Nikoloz but he failed to cross the finish line first, scoring three breaks in the second set but missing the other four opportunities in sets one and three, which cost him dearly. The Georgian played well in sets one and three and he broke Leonardo once in each of the sets he won to seal the deal and earn his biggest result in a career so far.
From 40-0 up, Basilashvili had to save two break points in the second game of the match to avoid an early setback and he earned a break in the very next game when Leonardo's backhand landed long. They both served well in the next games and Basilashvili served for the set at 5-4, saving a break point and closing the opener after another mistake from Mayer. The Argentinian was the only player on the court in set number two, saving a break point at the start of the set and never looking back, taking all six games to bagel his opponent after a double fault from Nikoloz in the last game, become the favorite in the decider.
Basilashvili found his range again in set number three and we saw 10 easy holds on both sides for a 5-5 before he broke Mayer in game 11, serving for the title in the game that followed. The Argentinian earned a break point in his last attempt to prolong the match but Basilashvili saved it after a backhand error from his rival and he sealed the deal two points later after another poor groundstroke from Mayer to grab his first ATP title.
* ATP 250 Atlanta: John Isner (USA) vs Ryan Harrison (USA) 5-7 6-3 6-4
The 33-year-old John Isner had been on a roll since March, winning his maiden Masters 1000 title in Miami and reaching the semi-final at Wimbledon where he lost to Kevin Anderson in the third longest singles match in the history of tennis. Pumped and motivated, John made another trip to his beloved BB&T Atlanta Open where he spent four amazing Collegiate years, never missing this tournament since it was founded in 2010. Competing in Atlanta for the ninth time, John reached the eighth final and claimed the fifth crown, coming from a set down to overpower the 8th seed Ryan Harrison 5-7 6-3 6-4 in an hour and 58 minutes for his 14th ATP crown, the 12th at home in the USA.
This was the 35th match in Atlanta for the giant server and his 31st win and also the repeat of 2017 final when John also toppled Ryan in two tie breaks. The younger American had his chances, creating five break points but converting only one and suffering two breaks of serve to finish on the losing side, dropping the eighth match out of 11 he played against his compatriot. Harrison had a colossal opportunity to bring the match home in straight sets, creating four break points in set number two after taking the opener but it wasn't to be for him in the end. Isner found the way to stay in the set, stealing it with a single break and sailing through the remaining service games to keep all the pressure on Harrison.
Nothing could have separated the rivals in the opening 10 games, serving well and allowing no break points whatsoever, moving closer to a tie break. That all changed in game 11 when Ryan found the way to return John's serve and score a break that enabled him to serve for the opening set. Three service winners delivered the opener for the younger American after 40 minutes and John had to do more on the return if he wanted to defend the title. Instead of that, he had to save three break points in the third game of the second set, missing the first serves but delivering three winners to avoid an even bigger damage and stay in contention.
Ryan's last break point of the match came in the fifth game and Isner fends it off with a volley winner, refusing to surrender and preparing himself to fight for every point in the rest of the encounter. After missing his chances, Harrison faced the first break point of the match in the sixth game and John broke him to move 4-2 ahead, gaining the momentum and sealing the set with an ace in game nine to set up a decider. The match was concluded in the very first game of the final set when John fired a forehand winner to break Ryan, serving well until the end of the match to wrap up the title with three winners in game 10, proving his Atlanta dominance one more time.
* ATP 250 Gstaad: Matteo Berrettini (ITA) vs Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) 7-6(9) 6-4
The 22-year-old Italian Matteo Berrettini had entered the 2018 season with no ATP wins under his belt but he was determined to change that quickly, qualifying for the main draw in Doha to score his maiden triumph on the Tour. Three solid Challenger results had brought him to the verge of entering the top-100 and he achieved that after winning a match in Rome in front of the home crowd. Matteo reached the third round at the Roland Garros and the best was yet to come in Gstaad, winning five matches in straight sets to lift his first ATP title following a 7-6 6-4 triumph over the 2nd seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the title match.
The encounter lasted an hour and 45 minutes and it was a brilliant performance from the young Italian, firing 17 aces and losing 12 points on serve in total, never facing a break point. Playing in his first tournament since Halle where he suffered an injury in the semi-final, the Spaniard gave his best to stay in touch with his opponent, fending off five out of six break chances to keep himself in contention and also wasting two set points in the first set tie break that could have given him a huge boost. Instead of that, Matteo stole the breaker 11-9 and he dominated on serve in the second set to wait for a chance on the return patiently.
He converted the sixth break point in the 10th game and that pushed him over the finish line, celebrating his biggest success on the Tour so far as the ninth player with the maiden ATP crown this year. Roberto held in the opening game of the match after a service winner following four deuces and both players served well on fast clay in Gstaad, reaching a tie break after 41 minutes. Returners had no chances in the opening 10 points and the Spaniard drew first blood in the 11th point when Matteo sent a forehand long. A double fault from Bautista Agut kept the Italian in contention and Matteo moved 8-7 in front with two aces.
He failed to convert two set points but the third proved to be the lucky one for him, firing a forehand down the line winner at 10-9 to clinch the opener and gain a momentum before the rest of the match. Berrettini was on a high level on serve in set number two as well and he wasted four break points in the second game that could have moved him closer to the finish line. Roberto fends off another break point in game six and he had three game points to level the score at 5-5. He couldn't bring the game home and Berrettini earned a match point with a great forehand down the line. Another powerful forehand sealed the deal for the Italian and he could have started a huge celebration after the biggest result of his young career so far.
* ATP 500 Washington: Alexander Zverev (GER) vs Alex de Minaur (AUS) 6-2 6-4
World number 3 Alexander Zverev claimed the title in Washington for the second straight year, beating another upcoming star Alex de Minaur 6-2 6-4 in an hour and 14 minutes for his ninth ATP trophy and the 41st win of the season. This was the second ATP final for de Minaur who saved four match points against Andrey Rublev in the semis on the previous night and he became one of the youngest players in the ATP 500 finals. In addition, with Zverev being only 21, this also stands as one of the youngest ATP 500 finals since this level of competition was established in 1990.
Just like against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semis, Zverev proved once again he is the leader among the U21 players and that the others will have to work harder in order to catch his level in the following years. The Greek couldn't create a break a point against Sascha and Alex failed to do that as well, winning just 11 points in Zverev's games and dropping 43% of the points behind his initial shot, facing 11 break points and losing serve four times to end on the losing side, just like against Daniil Medvedev in Sydney in January. They played against each other in February as well and it was a completely different match in Davis Cup in Brisbane, with Zverev prevailing in the deciding set tie break.
It was a much easier day in the office for him today, hitting 17 winners and 18 errors while de Minaur stood on a 12-20 ratio, not enough to keep him in the match longer. Sascha is only the third player who managed to win back-to-back titles here after Andre Agassi and Juan Martin del Potro and he earned the win with the better performance in the shortest and mid-range rallies, forcing more errors than his rival and making the difference with his serve and the first groundstroke. The German broke in the very first game of the match and he held at love with an ace to cement the break and settle into a nice rhythm.
De Minaur was yet to find his shots and he netted another backhand to suffer a break in the third game, allowing Zverev to move 4-0 up after just 15 minutes with a service winner in the next game. Another good serve pushed Sascha 5-1 up and he blasted four unreturned serves in the eighth game to take the opener 6-2 in 30 minutes. Alex had to give his serve away in the third game of the second set as well after a forehand winner from Sascha and he had to save break points at 2-4 to avoid an even bigger deficit. The Aussie fends off two match points in the ninth game but Zverev sealed the deal with a hold in the following game to lift the trophy and defend the crown he won 12 months ago.
* ATP 250 Los Cabos: Fabio Fognini (ITA) vs Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) 6-4 6-2
In the battle of the top seeds, the 31-year-old Italian Fabio Fognini defeated world number 4 Juan Martin del Potro 6-4 6-2 in an hour and 19 minutes to raise his eighth ATP crown and the first outside clay! After conquering Sao Paulo and Bastad, this is the third title for Fabio in 2018, making it his best season on the Tour and he looked good to add more titles to his tally in the rest of the year. Playing against each other for the first time in three and a half years, the Italian served at only 49% but he managed to get the most from his initial shot, saving two out of three break points to keep the pressure on del Potro who didn't play on his usual level, unable to dominate with his forehand or to prevail in the crucial points, suffering four breaks of serve from as many chances he gave to Fabio.
The Argentinian made the best possible start, holding in the opening game of the match and breaking Fabio in game two after a volley winner. Another volley winner sent Delpo 3-0 up but Fabio pulled the break back in game five to reduce the deficit and get on the positive side of the scoreboard. The Italian was on fire now and he broke again in game seven when Juan Martin netted a forehand and Fognini held after a deuce in game 10 with a service winner for a 6-4. Fabio saved a break point at the start of the second set and he grabbed the break with a forehand down the line winner in the next game to open a 2-1 lead.
Del Potro sprayed another forehand error in game five to give his serve away one more time, losing 10 of the last 12 games to find himself in a very tough position if he wanted to turn the scoreboard around and win the title. Fognini increased his lead with three winners in game six and he clinched the win with a beautiful volley winner at 5-2 to clinch the title.
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