Gabriel Diallo has won his first ATP Tour title.
The 23-year-old Montreal native defeated Belgium’s Zizou Bergs 7-5, 7-6 (8) to win the Libema Open tennis tournament on Sunday.
In what was a tight, back-and-forth second set, Diallo was down 6-4 in the tiebreaker before pulling victory from the jaws of defeat. He got three straight points from then on before eventually taking the win.
Diallo had nine aces, won 76 per cent of his first-serve points and had 23 winners. He also broke on his lone opportunity, while saving his opponent’s two break point chances.
The six-foot-eight Diallo was the first Canadian men’s singles finalist in event history.
Diallo, currently ranked No. 55, already guaranteed his top-50 debut on Monday by reaching the semifinals.
WATCH | Diallo takes 2nd-set tiebreaker to cap Libema Open title win:
Gabriel Diallo of Montreal defeated Zizou Bergs of Belgium 7-5, 7-6 (8) Sunday at Libema Open to claim his first career ATP Tour title.
German 1st Queen’s Club women’s champ in 52 years
German qualifier Tatjana Maria capped an incredible week in London as she defeated American eighth seed Amanda Anisimova 6-3 6-4 to become the first woman to win a title at Queen’s Club in over half a century.
The Wimbledon tune-up welcomed back female competitors for the first time since 1973, when the Soviet Union’s Olga Morozova won the title.
The victory marked the end of an extraordinary nine-day stretch for Maria, a mother of two ranked 86 in the world, after she stunned second seed and Australian Open champion Madison Keys in the previous round.
The 37-year-old becomes the oldest player to claim a WTA title since Serena Williams in Auckland 2020. She dropped only one set en route to the title and her dream run also included victories over Kazakh fourth seed Elena Rybakina and Czech sixth seed Karolina Muchova.
Maria dominated Anismova with big serves and earned an early break in the first set. She won 12 points in a row as she raced to a 4-1 lead and then held off a brief Anisimova fightback to close out the set.
Maria carried her momentum into the second as she again surged into a 4-1 lead. Her seventh ace of the match helped her move up 5-3, and she served out the match two games later to clinch her first title in over two years.
“A dream come true. [When] I came here, I was never thinking I could hold the trophy at the end. When we arrived my little girl said, ‘Wow that’s a nice trophy, so big’ and I said ‘OK let’s go for it I will try to win it’,” Maria said.
“Everything is possible if you believe in it … I want to show this to my kids and hopefully they are proud. It’s amazing.”
Having started the week as world No. 86, Maria is projected to move up to world number 43 when the new rankings are released Monday.
Wimbledon runs June 30 to July 13.
Fritz lifts Stuttgart title
Taylor Fritz claimed his first title of the year with a 6-3 7-6(0) win over top seed Alexander Zverev in the Stuttgart Open final, extending his winning streak against the German to five matches.
Fritz, who knocked out Zverev in the fourth round of Wimbledon last year, won the opening set 6-3 in 30 minutes without facing a break point. The American second seed broke for a 5-3 lead after Zverev double-faulted twice and missed a volley at the net.
The second set stayed on serve, with Zverev saving the only break point at 5-5 before Fritz pulled away in a one-sided tiebreak to seal victory. It was Fritz’s ninth career title, fourth on grass, and improved his head-to-head record against Zverev to 8-5.
“I’m really happy especially as it was not too great of a clay season. And then from that place to come here and start the grass season off perfectly, I am super happy to win the title and do it here,” said Fritz, who won the ATP 250 title without dropping serve all tournament.
“I don’t have much time to celebrate. I have doubles tomorrow in London, in Queen’s.”
The 28-year-old Zverev, ranked third in the world, is yet to win a title on grass, a surface he has long struggled on. The three-times Grand Slam finalist has never progressed beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon.
World number seven Fritz, 27, is set to rise to fourth in the rankings ahead of Wimbledon.
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