Too steady. Too persistent. Too experienced.

Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas was all of the above on Sunday against Germany’s Cedrik-Marcel Stebe to win his second ATP Tour title 6-3, 6-2 at the J. Safra Sarasin Swiss Open Gstaad.

The 2017 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters finalist tracked down everything and was more than happy to stay in rallies with Stebe, who was playing in his first ATP Tour final after winning two matches on Saturday because of earlier rain.

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The two had to wait about four and a half hours to take the court for the final because of more rain, and Stebe broke to start. The German, No. 455 in the ATP Rankings, was looking to become the second lowest-ranked tour-level titlist.

But Ramos-Vinolas quickly settled down, breaking twice in the opener, including for 4-2 when Stebe sailed a forehand wide to finish an 11-point game.

The 31-year-old Spaniard broke twice more in the second set, including in the opening game when he tracked down a drop shot and delivered a backhand winner on the slide. Ramos-Vinolas didn’t drop a set all tournament.

“The conditions were tough today. Albert was rock solid as he was all week. He deserves to win,” Stebe said. “It was an amazing week for me here in Gstaad, I played very good tennis. Of course, it wasn’t easy to play two matches yesterday. I gave everything today, but it wasn’t enough. That’s tennis.”

Stebe, who used a protected ranking to enter the tournament, will receive 150 ATP Rankings points and €48,870 in prize money. Ramos-Vinolas, who reached a career-high ATP Ranking of No. 17 in May 2017, improved to 2-6 in ATP Tour finals and will receive 250 ATP Rankings points and €90,390 in prize money.

After failing to convert two championship points to lift their maiden ATP Tour team title at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag last week, Oliver Marach and Jurgen Melzer needed just eight days to go one step further at the Hamburg European Open on Sunday.

The Austrian tandem defeated Robin Haase and Wesley Koolhof 6-2, 7-6(3) to take the trophy after 84 minutes, saving both break points faced en route to victory. Marach and Pavic improve to 15-9 at tour-level as a team, dating back to their first appearance together in 2011.

“I think we can be very happy with our performances this week,” said Melzer. “We have played good tennis, especially when it mattered. It is never easy to come back after a tough loss the week before in a final. To not lose a set the week after and win an ATP 500, I am very happy about that.”

Marach has now captured the Hamburg crown on two occasions from three final appearances, following his 2011 title run (w/Peya) and a runner-up finish last year (w/Pavic). Melzer adds to 2019 trophies in Marrakech (w/Skugor) and Sofia (w/Mektic).

Marach has now won 23 titles from 50 tour-level championship matches. Melzer adds a 16th tour-level doubles trophy to his collection.

“Hopefully we can take our run with us now [to Kitzbuhel]… We will have already, on Tuesday or Wednesday, our next match. We will rest tomorrow a little bit and then start the tournament,” said Marach.

Haase and Koolhof were bidding to capture their first ATP Tour title in only their third event as a team. At the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters in April, the Dutch duo also finished as the runner-up pairing (l. to Mektic/Skugor).

Marach and Melzer earn 500 ATP Doubles Ranking points and share €111,490. Haase and Koolhof gain 300 points and split €54,570.

Nikoloz Basilashvili arrived at last year’s Hamburg European Open at No. 81 in the ATP Rankings with a place in the qualifying draw.

On Sunday, the Georgian lifted his second straight trophy at the ATP 500 event with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 victory against Andrey Rublev. Basilashvili hit 26 forehand winners to claim his 12th straight win in Hamburg, which includes 10 main-draw victories. He improved to 2-0 in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against the 21-year-old.

“When you have achievements, people want more and expect more,” said Basilashvili. “Everybody is writing to me, everybody is happy. I have a lot of support from home and it is a great feeling.”

The fourth seed has now lifted three tour-level trophies, with each title run coming at the ATP 500-level. Basilashvili also triumphed at last year’s China Open, defeating Juan Martin del Potro in the championship match. The World No. 16 is the first player since Roger Federer in 2005 to claim back-to-back Hamburg crowns.

“It looks like I am playing my best tennis here… Just to see my name next to [Roger and Andrei Medvedev who also defended titles here] means a lot to me,” said Basilashvili.

The 27-year-old, who owns 20 victories from 36 tour-level clashes this season, was forced to save two match points in his semi-final meeting against Alexander Zverev. Basilashvili trailed 3-5 in the deciding set before claiming his second Top 5 win (2-6) after three hours and eight minutes.

“I was really happy how I stayed mentally stable in both matches and did not give up,” said Basilashvili.

Rublev made a quick start to his first ATP 500 final, breaking his opponent in the third game after an extended forehand battle. The Russian changed direction well to find Basilashvili’s backhand corner with pace and precision to take the lead.

But three games later, Basilashvili settled into the match. The Georgian found his range on his forehand to dictate rallies, before firing a forehand winner up the line on his fifth break point. With Rublev serving to stay in the set at 5-6, Basilashvili punished his opponent with a series of aggressive returns to take the set after 55 minutes.

Once again, it was Rublev who broke first in the second set. The Russian stepped up the court to take time away from his opponent and move into a 4-3 lead. After just over 90 minutes, Rublev captured the second set as Basilashvili committed back-to-back forehand errors.

Basilashvili continued to dictate points with varied success at the start of the decider, with both men trading service breaks in the opening three games. But Basilashvili trusted his strategy, moving in behind his return to earn a second straight break and a 3-1 advantage. The Georgian maintained his advantage, holding serve to love to clinch the title as Rublev’s backhand floated beyond the baseline.

“I really like playing on the Centre Court here, I see the ball very well… I played my best tennis here and I will come back next year, for sure,” said Basilashvili.

Rublev was aiming to lift his second ATP Tour title, following his maiden triumph as a lucky loser at 2017 Umag. The Russian defeated top seed Dominic Thiem to earn his first Top 5 win en route to the championship match.

“It was a good week for me. For the moment, my best week,” said Rublev. “Of course, it is always disappointing to lose in a final, but Nikoloz was playing really well and he deserves it. To win two years in a row here is amazing. It is really hard. It is really tough mentally and he did it. It is unbelievable.”

Basilashvili receives 500 ATP Ranking points and collects €354,845 in prize money. Rublev gains 300 ATP Ranking points and receives €178,220.

Did You Know?
Basilashvili is the first seeded player to lift the Hamburg trophy since Martin Klizan in 2016. Lucky loser Leonardo Mayer won the title in 2017, while Basilashvili was a qualifier when earned his maiden crown last year.

#NextGenATP Aussie Alex de Minaur and American Reilly Opelka have been dinner buddies this week at the BB&T Atlanta Open. The third seed may want to foot the bill tonight after holding off 28 aces from Opelka on Saturday to reach the final with a 7-6(4), 6-7(5), 6-3 win.

At age 20, De Minaur is the youngest finalist in tournament history. He’s through to his first ATP Tour final since winning the Sydney International in January (d. Seppi) and the fourth of his career. Although the Aussie endured a string of early exits on clay and grass while dealing with a groin injury, he’s 14-4 on hard courts this season and has looked confident since stepping back on his best surface.

“I’m really proud of where I am after suffering a tough injury. I’m back where I want to be,” said De Minaur. “I felt like I’ve been playing some great tennis, but not getting the wins that I wanted. I knew that sooner or later, I’d have a good result again.”

There were no service breaks in the first two sets of his semi-final with Opelka. De Minaur raced through the last three points of the first-set tie-break, but Opelka hung tough in a wild second-set tie-break that saw him lose three mini-break advantages before levelling the score.

After more than two hours of play, De Minaur earned the first break of the match to lead 3-2 in the deciding set. Buoyed by snapping Opelka’s streak of 47 consecutive service holds this week, the third seed broke once more to close out the match after two hours and 29 minutes. He improved to 2-0 in his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry with Opelka, having defeated the American this year in Sydney.

De Minaur will play second-seeded American Taylor Fritz or Brit Cameron Norrie in the final. The Aussie has never played Norrie, but defeated Fritz last year in the Next Gen ATP Finals.

Hip impingement surgery. Lower back ailment. Pubic bone inflammation. Pelvic surgery to insert netting. Stress fracture of the pubic bone. Three separate right wrist surgeries in a 12-month span.

Cedrik-Marcel Stebe is only 28, yet he has been through more injuries over the past six years than most people would like to in a lifetime. Nevertheless, the German has persevered. Despite entering the J. Safra Sarasin Swiss Open Gstaad without a tour-level match win since September 2017, Stebe has battled through three consecutive three-setters to reach his first ATP Tour final.

“It’s unreal, to be honest. I just came here trying to win one match, maybe,” Stebe told ATPTour.com. “I’d never think I would get this far in this tournament, especially in altitude.”

Stebe showed promise at a young age, reaching a career-high ATP Ranking of No. 71 in February 2012. But he’d miss the end of 2013, all of 2014, and almost the entirety of 2015 due to injury. At the time, the German wondered if he would ever play professional tennis again.

But Stebe never stopped believing, grinding away until he reentered the Top 100 in September 2017 after qualifying for that year’s US Open and winning a round in the main draw. The lefty earned three ATP Challenger Tour titles that year, ascending as high as No. 76. But again, the injury bug struck in early 2018.

“Sometimes I felt like someone has a voodoo doll of myself and was playing around with it and randomly sticking needles into my body parts somewhere. It always felt like I was trying to come back and feeling almost okay, and then something came around again and I had to do surgery again,” Stebe said. “It just feels like some bigger force doesn’t want me to play tennis anymore. But I kept trying and trying and here I am, finally, and I’m playing some good tennis again.”

Life wasn’t easy for Stebe during his most recent bout with injury, as he underwent right wrist surgeries in February and July of 2018, before undergoing another surgery this February due to a torn ECU tendon. He had come all the way back and reestablished himself on the ATP Tour, only to be knocked back onto the shelf.

“To be out for about one and a half years after coming back from injuries that took me out for two and a half years, it wasn’t easy. I knew how to handle it somehow, but mentally, sometimes, I went crazy,” Steve said. “I just had to find other things I could focus on, meet some friends, visit friends that are living far away.

“I tried to not think about any tennis at all. I also didn’t check any results, because that would make me go even crazier. Seeing people climbing up the [ATP] Rankings and I had to stay home and not play at all, that would have been crazy.”

Stebe returned to action this April in Marrakech, playing 10 matches at all levels before this week’s ATP 250 event in Gstaad. The German’s only two victories came at a Futures tournament. That makes his run in Switzerland even more impressive. And on Saturday, Stebe did double-duty, winning a three-set quarter-final and semi-final in the same day.

“It’s been tough, to be honest, the past couple of months,” Stebe said. “Winning some good matches and also some tight matches gives me confidence and that’s exactly what I need at the moment. It’s just unreal to come through here today, two matches, each three sets.”

Lowest-Ranked ATP Tour Finalists Since 1985

The World No. 455 is the seventh lowest-ranked ATP Tour finalist on record (since 1985), and he can become the second lowest-ranked tour-level titlist if he defeats Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas on Sunday in their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting. The only time they’ve played one another came 10 years ago at a Futures event.

“Body-wise, it was of course tough today. I just need to continue focussing on the match tomorrow because the tournament isn’t over yet,” Stebe said. “That’s the most important thing, that I try to stay focussed and don’t be too satisfied with the wins today. I just have to give everything tomorrow and hopefully win the title.”

Stebe was delightfully surprised with his form when he arrived in Gstaad. Last week, he competed at sea-level in Umag, where he lost in the first round against Czech Jiri Vesely. After beating eighth seed Corentin Moutet in the first round here, he avenged that Vesely defeat in three sets and has not looked back.

“My tennis has been pretty good this week. Since the first day I came here, I remember I arrived in the evening… I kind of felt the ball immediately even though I came from sea-level in Umag. It was strange from the beginning when I felt the ball very good and didn’t miss many balls,” Stebe said. “My coach also said it was looking very good. I don’t want to say it was supposed to be like this now, but I was feeling very well from the start of the week.“

Stebe knows that he hasn’t had the easiest time as a professional tennis player. Far from it. But he also believes that people who watch him persevere can learn from what he’s gone through, not just in tennis, but in life.

“To never give up. What I’ve been through is maybe unique. I don’t know many people who suffered the injuries I had and ever came back playing at a world-class level,” Stebe said. “In my opinion, people shouldn’t give up early. They have the chance to play, keep trying, working hard and eventually it will pay off.”