ATP Atlanta: Flawless Alex de Minaur downs Taylor Fritz for title no. 2
Still a teenager, Alex de Minaur was the player to beat in January, scoring nine wins overall and lifting the first ATP title in Sydney. Things were not that good for the youngster after the Australian Open, struggling with illness and hip injury to earn just five wins between February and Wimbledon, not making progress through the rankings and heading to Atlanta eager to change that. As it turned out, the 20-year-old was the player to beat at the BB&T Atlanta Open, toppling four rivals without facing a break point to become the youngest winner in Atlanta and the third ATP champion since 1991 who claimed the title without offering break chances to his rivals! In the title match, de Minaur took down another youngster Taylor Fritz 6-3, 7-6 in an hour and 17 minutes, dropping ten points on serve and keeping the pressure on the American all the time.
Taylor fought well in set number two but his second serve was never enough to challenge Alex, combined with the dominant performance from the Aussie in the longer rallies that carried him over the top. Fritz managed to save a break point in the first game of the match after an extended rally but de Minaur stood on a higher level in the second part of the set, stealing the American's serve in the seventh game after a double fault from Taylor and closing the set with a break at 15 at 5-3.
Winning four straight games, de Minaur had the advantage on his side although he had to work harder in set number two, with Fritz also avoiding break points to reach a tie break where Alex won all four of the return points to move 5-2 up, sealing the deal with a perfect serve&volley combo in the ninth point to celebrate well-deserved title and the return into the top-30. De Minaur is the ninth player born in 1995 or after with multiple ATP titles after Alexander Zverev, Nick Kyrgios, Karen Khachanov, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Matteo Berrettini, Borna Coric and Cristian Garin, standing as the youngest one among them and feeling ready for more in the rest of the season.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2GBJVg5
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