Tomas Mahach of the Czech Republic won his first career ATP Tour title after defeating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6 (6), 6-2 in the final of the tennis tournament in Acapulco.
The No. 8 seed at the Mexican Open has a mixed doubles gold medal from the Paris Olympics on his card, but today he became the third representative of his country with an ATP 500 tournament title after Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek.
Machach is currently ranked 25th in the men's world rankings, and today he was the better in the opening shot, placing seven aces in a tense first set, in which neither of them managed to make a break. break.
The Spaniard Davidovic Fokina was on the verge of winning the set when he led 6:5 in the tiebreak, but Mahach kept his nerve, won the next three points and thus pulled out the set.
In the second set, the 24-year-old Czech stepped up, achieving the first break of the match and leading 3:2. Davidovic Fokina struggled to cope with the gap, but Mahach won each of the next games and thus triumphed in two sets.
Machach, who last year in Geneva eliminated Novak Djokovic (Serbia) in the semifinals, lost the title match then to Casper Ruud. Now, however, he lay on his back on the court after Davidovic Fokina hit the ball with a backhand into the net, thus securing the victory and the title.
"Congratulations on your first title. "I don't know how you feel right now because I've never won an ATP tournament myself. But I guess it feels incredible," the Spaniard said at the awards ceremony. Davidovich-Fokina himself has lost three finals so far, including a defeat in Delray Beach earlier this month.