ATP

De Minaur collects biggest title of his career in Acapulco, home favourite Jarry into Chile Open final

By Sports Desk March 05, 2023

Alex de Minaur secured his first ATP 500 title on Saturday after coming from behind to defeat Tommy Paul 3-6 6-4 6-1 in the Mexican Open final.

It was a tremendous week in Acapulco for the Australian, having eliminated world number 10 Holger Rune in the semi-final en route to his seventh title overall, with the first six all at the ATP 250 level.

Against Paul, De Minaur blew a pair of break points in the opening set, and then gave up the break in the very next game, allowing the American to serve things out safely to take the first frame.

But mistakes started to creep into Paul's game the longer the match went. After landing 75 per cent of his first serves fair in the opener and avoiding any double-faults, Paul's first serve percentage dropped to 46 in the second, and he committed a pair of doubles.

He committed another two double-faults in the decider to hand De Minaur the early break, and his play from the baseline also deteriorated, hitting just six winners to go with 14 unforced errors.

Known for his resilience, De Minaur had to save five break points to hold serve in the opening game of the third set, but he held his nerve, and churned out five consecutive games as Paul ran out of gas.

The 500 ranking points will see the Aussie climb to 18th in the world, with his career-best mark of 15th now within reach.

Meanwhile, the fairytale continued for Nicolas Jarry at the Chile Open, with the Santiago-born talent electrifying his home crowd with a 1-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 semi-final victory over Jaume Munar.

Jarry will get a chance for the second ATP title of his career, and the first since 2019, when he meets Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the final.

Etcheverry emerged victorious 7-5 6-3 in an all-Argentine showdown against third seed Sebastian Baez, earning his first final appearance at this level.

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    Coco Gauff explained how she kept her cool despite the helter-skelter nature of her WTA Finals clash with Qinwen Zheng.

    Gauff prevailed 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-2) in Riyadh on Saturday to become the youngest WTA Finals champion since 2004.

    She was pushed all the way by Olympic champion Zheng, who led 5-3 at one stage in the decider and also clawed back four matchpoints before Gauff eventually got over the line.

    "Tired, it's been a hard season," Gauff told Sky Sports after her victory.

    "It was a really great match. Qinwen played some unbelievable tennis. I was just trying my best to hang in there and I never gave up.

    "I was just telling myself, 'It's another point, another chance'. I've been in situations like this in the past and have been able to turn it around, and was able to do it again."

    Gauff is the first player since Serena Williams (12, between 2013 and 2015) to win at least eight consecutive hard-court finals.

    The 20-year-old collapsed on the court after her winning shot, something the American quipped she had mentally reserved for grand slam victories.

    "At the end of the match, when I, like, fell on the floor, I didn't think I was going to do that," said Gauff, who has secured the year-end world number three ranking.

    "I made a promise to myself that I will save that for grand slams. But honestly, to the way the match went, I was like, 'I'm just tired. I just want to lay on the ground.'

    "I know I was like a couple of points away from losing, but, you know, I just tried to stay in the moment, honestly, and I'm really proud of myself."

    For Zheng, it was a case of taking the positives from the first WTA Finals showpiece match that had to be settled by a third-set tie-break/

    She said: "The match was very close, and then, you know, at the end, when you play this type of match, it's not about tennis, it's just about choices on court.

    "When you lose a match, there's lessons you have to learn. So I would say it's a lot of positive things, because it's my first WTA Finals, but at the same time, I feel hurt to lose this match. But we will see. Maybe next time I will be better."

  • WTA Finals: Gauff downs Zheng to clinch title WTA Finals: Gauff downs Zheng to clinch title

    Coco Gauff triumphed over Qinwen Zheng after three sets to become the youngest WTA Finals champion in 20 years.

    Having fallen behind in Saturday's final in Riyadh, Gauff bounced back to prevail 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-2).

    Gauff had squandered two match points when 6-5, 40-15 up in the decider, with Zheng clawing back to force a tie-break.

    Yet, the American rediscovered her composure to cruise into a 5-0 lead, and though she saw another two match points fall by the wayside, Gauff got the job done at the fifth time of asking.

    A short Zheng return clipped the top of the net, with Gauff scrambling from the baseline to meet it before flicking a forehand to the left of her opponent, with this year's Olympic champion unable to get there.

    Gauff, who beat Iga Swiatek in the group stage and downed world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals, collapsed to the court in celebration, after winning what was the second-longest WTA Tour-level final of 2024.

    Data Debrief: It's a marathon, not a sprint

    Zheng made a blistering start, but despite going a break up in the second set, she could not maintain the momentum.

    Gauff's wobble in the decider meant the WTA Finals championship match had to be decided by a third-set tie-break for the first time since the tournament's introduction in 1972.

    At 20, Gauff is the youngest player to win the WTA Finals since Maria Sharapova in 2004, and the youngest American champion of the event since Serena Williams in 2001.

    Only Nancy Richey and Anna Smashnova (10 each) have won more titles after their first 10 WTA Tour-level finals than Gauff (nine) in the Open Era.

    Meanwhile, she is the first player since Williams (12, between the 2013 US Open and 2015 Cincinnati Open) to win at least eight consecutive hard-court finals, and the youngest to do so since Martina Hingis in 1998.

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    Carlos Alcaraz said he arrives at the ATP Finals with "a lot of motivation" and is looking to make his mark in Turin next week. 

    Alcaraz, who claimed two grand slam titles at the French Open and Wimbledon this year, missed the event in 2022 after picking up an internal oblique muscle tear. 

    The Spaniard was then beaten in straight sets by Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals, though the Olympic champion has since withdrawn from this year's tournament with an ongoing injury issue. 

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    “Last year was a difficult end of the year for me,” Alcaraz said. “I could not play at my best.

    "The last two matches here were pretty good matches for me, but the previous two, three tournaments I didn’t play at my best, so I realised I had to change a little bit at this time of the year, which I did this year.

    “I come here a little bit different. I approach this tournament a little differently, knowing there are things I have to change if I am to have a good result here and go far.

    "Last year I didn’t start well from the first matches. I will try to play at the same level and will try to play good tennis. I am coming here with a lot of motivation.”

    Alcaraz was drawn in the John Newcombe Group at the ATP Finals alongside Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev.

    He will start against Ruud on Monday, but might face the strongest competition in the group from Zverev, who claimed his seventh Masters 1000 title at the Paris Masters. 

    Among the qualifiers for this year's event, Zverev (14) and Daniil Medvedev (11) are the only two to have recorded 10 or more match wins at the ATP Finals.

    Alcaraz and Zverev have faced each other 10 times, winning five apiece, though Alcaraz has won the last two, including at Roland-Garros in the French Open showpiece.

    “He is one of the toughest players in the world for sure,” Alcaraz said about Zverev.

    “I think I return pretty well but he has a really big serve and plays unbelievable from the baseline, which makes him a really tough opponent to face.

    “He has won more than 20 ATP Tour titles, lots of Masters titles. He wants a Grand Slam and I told him he is going to get it for sure.

    "At the end of his career he will get at least one, let's see if more.

    "He deserves it. He is a really hard worker. He has lifted the big trophies. I don’t like to face him because of his serves and shots, but I am trying to find the beauty of playing him.”

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