Schwartzman Rallies From The Brink For Maiden Title

Diego Schwartzman rallied from the brink of elimination in the final of the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open. The Argentine found himself down a set and a break against Grigor Dimitrov, before storming back, claiming 11 of the last 12 games to clinch his maiden ATP World Tour title 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 6-0.

Schwartzman is the second first-time winner on the ATP World Tour this year, joining Nick Kyrgios (Marseille), and the third different Argentine to triumph along with Federico Delbonis and Juan Monaco. The 23 year old battled all week in the Turkish capital, upsetting top seed Bernard Tomic in the second round and saving one match point in edging Damir Dzumhur on Friday.

Read: In The Gym With Diego

Service holds came at a premium in a marathon 70-minute first set on Sunday. Eight of the 12 service games resulted in breaks, including seven in a row. A tie-break would decide the opener, with Dimitrov converting his second opportunity as Schwartzman netted a volley.

Dimitrov looked to be in control as the second set got underway at the Garanti Koza Arena, consolidating an immediate break for 3-0. The second seed arrived at the doorstep of capturing the title in straight sets, leading 5-2, but the 5’7″ Argentine would not go down without a fight. With his back against the wall, Schwartzman denied Dimitrov serving for the match on his fourth break chance and would break again two games later.

The agile Schwartzman pounced in the ensuing tie-break, rallying from a mini-break deficit to force a decider. He would go on to take the third set 6-0, lifting his first ATP World Tour trophy after two hours and 47 minutes. The match ended in unusual circumstances when Dimitrov received a game penalty trailing at 0-5 in the final set after being penalised for a third time in the match for breaking his racquet.

Schwartzman will look to pull double duty on Sunday, also contesting the doubles final alongside countryman Andres Molteni. They face the Italian-Israeli duo of Flavio Cipolla and Dudi Sela. The World No. 87 is the second-lowest ranked player to lift a tour-level crown this year, behind only Monaco (No. 148) in Houston. He takes home 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points and €75,880 in prize money.

“I started cramping at 5-2 in the second set,” said Dimitrov, who was bidding for his fifth ATP World Tour title. “It was very unfortunate that I couldn’t close out the match. I have to give credit to Diego.

“I have two big events coming up and hope that I can face one of the top guys there. There will be some altitude in Madrid and I won’t have much time to get ready, but I like it there.”