American Reilly Opelka was pushed to the limit in a thrilling New York Open final on Sunday against Canadian qualifier Brayden Schnur, but made good on his sixth championship point to prevail 6-1, 6-7(7), 7-6(7) and earn his first ATP Tour title.

“This Opelka Serves Up Maiden Title In New York is definitely what I’m most proud of,” said Opelka. “I was tough mentally, especially losing a lot of first sets this week, and my first serve really helped me out. I was able to play clutch in those big moments.“

The 21-year-old finished the week with 156 aces, including 43 in Sunday’s championship match. He landed 72 per cent of his first-serves (312 of 436) and won 88 per cent of his first-serve points (276 of 312). After dropping serve twice in the first set of his opening-round match against fifth seed Adrian Mannarino, Opelka held in his next 68 service games to close out the week.

Opelka fought back from a set down in victories this week over Mannarino, Denis Istomin (R2) and top seed John Isner (SF), winning second-set tie-breaks in all three matches. He also saved six match points in the second-set tie-break against Isner.

Despite the loss, Schnur can be satisfied with the best result of his career. The Canadian was an alternate into the qualifying draw and had never won an ATP Tour main draw match before this week. He saved two match points in his second-round victory over third seed Steve Johnson and five set points in the opening set of his semi-final win over sixth seed Sam Querrey.

“It’s a dream come true for me. This week showed that I belong in these big tournaments and playing against the top guys,” said Schnur. “It’s unfortunate the way it ended because I left it all out there and did everything I could, but that’s how sports go sometimes.”

The first set was one-way traffic for Opelka as he broke Schnur twice to take the early advantage after 18 minutes. Neither player dropped serve in the second set to force a tie-break. Schnur erased a championship point on his serve at 5/6 with a solid forehand volley. Opelka earned another championship point on his serve at 7/6, but double faulted as the crowd gasped. A backhand error from Opelka at 7/7 gave Schnur his first set point and he converted with a strong serve, leaping in the air as the crowd stood up to applaud the comeback.

The deciding set was identical to the previous one, with neither player dropping serve to set up a final-set tie-break. Opelka battled to a 6/4 lead, but hit a forehand error on his third championship point. Schnur rifled a forehand winner on the next point to even the score. A fifth championship point for Opelka came and went at 6/7 as the Canadian continued his brave play with a strong forehand approach.

A big first serve from the qualifier at 7/7 appeared to set up his first championship point, but a challenge from Opelka showed the ball was out. Schnur shockingly double faulted and, fittingly, Opelka hit his 43rd ace of the day on his sixth championship point to end the match after two hours and one minute.

Opelka picks up 250 ATP Ranking points and $119,800, while Schnur receives 150 ATP Ranking points and $64,780.

German duo Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies won their first ATP Tour doubles title on Sunday at the New York Open. A single break in each set was all they required to defeat Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan 6-4, 7-5.

“This feeling is unbelievable. It’s really a dream come true to us and we’ve worked so hard for this moment,” said Mies.

Krawietz and Mies finished its week in New York without dropping a set. They have primarily competed together on the ATP Challenger Tour, winning five titles in the past nine months. They also came through qualifying to reach the third round at Wimbledon last year.

“This is the best tournament that we’ve played together. We get along off the court and have fun together, so you can see that on the court,” said Krawietz. “It was a pleasure to play in front of such a big crowd today and I was able to get energy from them in the match.”

Gonzalez was seeking his first ATP Tour doubles title since winning this in Antalya (w/Demoliner) last June, while Qureshi’s last title came in October 2017 in Chengdu (w/Erlich). Gonzalez and Qureshi opened this season together with a semi-final finish in Doha.

The German pair broke serve at 3-3 in the opening set and rode that momentum to an early advantage. They saved the lone break point against them at 3-4 in the second set, then secured a break at 5-5 before closing out the contest in 74 minutes.

Krawietz and Mies pick up 250 ATP Ranking points and split $39,300, while Gonzalez and Qureshi earn 150 ATP Ranking points and split $20,140.

Maximo Gonzalez and Horacio Zeballos needed just 49 minutes to capture their first ATP Tour title as a team on Sunday, cruising past Diego Schwartzman and Dominic Thiem 6-1, 6-1 at the Argentina Open.

The top-seeded Argentine duo, which improves to 9-3 as a team, won 74 per cent of first-serve points (20/27) and saved all three break points it faced to triumph in front of its home crowd. The title run closes an impressive two weeks for Gonzalez and Zeballos on home soil. Last week, the Argentine duo reached its maiden tour-level championship match as a team at the inaugural Cordoba Open, falling to Roman Jebavy and Andres Molteni in straight sets.

“Sharing the court with [Horacio] is good because we know each other a lot,” said Gonzalez. “It’s great to get a win at home, after losing the final [in Cordoba] last week… A win at home with all our people, family and friends, is very nice and special.”

Gonzalez improves to 5-2 in tour-level doubles finals. Zeballos, who lifted three ATP Tour doubles trophies in 2018, now owns 11 tour-level doubles crowns.

“It is a huge pleasure to be here with the champions trophy,” said Zeballos. “I’m really happy to enjoy a week with so many friends”

Schwartzman and Thiem were bidding to capture their first team title in their third ATP Tour event as a team. On Saturday, Schwartzman saved one match point to defeat Thiem in the singles semi-finals.

Gonzalez and Zeballos receive 250 ATP Doubles Ranking points and share $33,400 in prize money for winning the title. Schwartzman and Thiem collect 150 points and split $17,120.

Did You Know?
Zeballos owns a 3-1 record in Argentina Open doubles finals. The 33-year-old, who finished as a runner-up in 2014 (w/Cuevas), also lifted the trophy in 2010 (w/Prieto) and last year (w/Molteni).

Third seed Marco Cecchinato saved his best for last at the Argentina Open. The Italian produced a flawless performance in Sunday’s final to defeat fourth seed and home favourite Diego Schwartzman 6-1, 6-2.

“I was able to play a great match and was always focused. I followed the game plan from the beginning to the end,” said Cecchinato. “I was able to win the first two matches [this week] the hard way, working point by point. I improved my level yesterday and I was focused today, so I’m happy with how I was able to win the tournament.”

The World No. 18 in the ATP Rankings cruised to the title in Buenos Aires without dropping a set. He finished the week leading all players in the field on second-serve points won (63%) and second-serve return points won (64%). All three of Cecchinato’s ATP Tour titles have come on clay, with the 26-year-old lifting trophies last year in Budapest and Umag.

“Winning my third tournament in my third final makes me happy,” said Cecchinato. “I want to be physically good and train harder for the rest of the year. I know that I’ll continue to have good results if I stay mentally solid.”

Schwartzman was seeking his first ATP Tour title since prevailing 12 months ago in Rio de Janeiro (d. Verdasco). However, he can take comfort in having reached his first ATP Tour final on home soil this week.

“Marco played a great match and deserved to be the champion. He didn’t let me do anything today,” said Schwartzman. “Playing at home and getting to the final was very nice for me. I had the unconditional support of the fans all week and that respect is something that makes me feel good despite the bad result.”

From 1-1 in the first set, Cecchinato dominated the lengthy baseline rallies and went on a seven-game run. Schwartzman tried to get the crowd involved and raised his arms in the air after getting on the board in the third game of the second set. But perhaps fatigued by his semi-final heroics on Saturday against top seed Dominic Thiem, where the Argentine saved a match point, Schwartzman couldn’t find his footing on Court Guillermo Vilas. A pair of unforced errors gave Cecchinato a 5-2 lead in the second set and the third seed wrapped up the match after 65 minutes.

Cecchinato picks up 250 ATP Ranking points and $101,830 for his efforts this week, while Schwartzman leaves Buenos Aires with 150 ATP Ranking points and $55,065.

Jeremy Chardy and Henri Kontinen completed a dream debut week on Sunday, beating Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau 7-6(5), 7-6(4) to lift their first team title at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament.

“[Partnering with Jeremy] was pretty last minute,” said Kontinen. “A few days before [the tournament], I was just glad he said yes to my text message and here we are.”

Chardy and Kontinen won 83 per cent of first-serve points (38/46) and saved five of six break points to triumph after one hour and 40 minutes. The French-Finnish partnership served for the first set at 5-3 and failed to convert a set point at 5-4, but eventually took a one-set lead in the tie-break. After saving two break points at 3-4 (30/40) in the second set, Chardy and Kontinen claimed five straight points from 2/4 down in the second-set tie-break to clinch the title.

More than two years after claiming his fourth tour-level doubles title at the 2017 Qatar ExxonMobil Open (w/F. Martin), Chardy adds a fifth title to his collection. Kontinen, who reached his second Australian Open final (w/Peers) last month, improves to 22-5 in tour-level championship matches.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Chardy. “[Henri] is my friend. To win with him means a lot to me. We played really good and he taught me a lot during the week, so it was really good to play with him.”

Rojer and Tecau were aiming to capture their 19th crown in their 24th tour-level final as a team (18-6). The Dutch-Romanian tandem drops to 1-2 in Rotterdam finals, having also finished as runner-up in 2014 (l. to Llodra/Mahut) before lifting the trophy in 2015 (d. Murray/Peers).

Chardy and Kontinen earn 500 ATP Doubles Ranking points and share €127,270 in prize money. Rojer and Tecau gain 300 points and split €62,300.

Did You Know?
Chardy and Kontinen required Match Tie-breaks in each of their three contests en route to the final.