CINCINNATI, Aug 23 (Reuters) – Arthur Fils defeated Frances Tiafoe to secure his first ATP Masters 1000 title on Sunday, while Coco Gauff beat Jessica Pegula to win her second Cincinnati Open title.
Fils bounced back from a second-set wobble to beat American Tiafoe 6-3 1-6 6-0. The 21st seed made a flying start by breaking early to establish a 3-0 lead in the opening set before Tiafoe got on the board with a hold of serve.
The Frenchman maintained relentless pressure from the baseline, attacking Tiafoe’s second serve and forcing errors as he moved 5-3 ahead. Fils was untouchable on serve, closing out the set with three successive aces without dropping a point in the final game.
Tiafoe, playing in his second Cincinnati final, responded in kind in the second set.
The 28-year-old broke in the second game en route to a 3-0 lead, with his forehands pulling Fils wide. Although Fils got on the board with a hold to love, the 17th seed Tiafoe broke again for a 5-1 advantage before forcing a decider.
Fils quickly regained control in the third set, breaking twice to race to a 4-0 lead as Tiafoe’s backhand errors piled up. The 22-year-old’s pace proved too much for the American, and he closed out the match with a 6-0 final set after a lengthy rally to lift the Cincinnati trophy.
“It was tough, because I started very, very strong, and then in the second set I lost a little bit of focus,” Fils said.
“To be able to win one title like this means a lot to me…It’s a lot of training, a lot of things, a lot of sacrifice,” he added.
Gauff secured her second Cincinnati title in the women’s final, defeating world number three Pegula in a dominant 6-2 6-4 victory.
The 22-year-old American quickly established a 5-0 lead in the opening set, breaking twice and capitalising on her compatriot’s double faults.
Pegula, who ousted defending champion Iga Swiatek on Saturday, broke Gauff without dropping a point at 5-2 but was unable to recover from the early deficit against the power of the world number four’s forehand.
Gauff, building momentum ahead of the U.S. Open, rapidly took a 3-0 lead in the second set, breaking in the second game while taking advantage of the 32-year-old’s failed returns.
Pegula, who lost the Washington Open final to Alexandra Eala earlier this month, held to love in the seventh game before breaking serve to reduce the deficit to 5-4. However the two-time Grand Slam champion Gauff broke back to close the set to love and clinch her 12th career singles title.
(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico CityEditing by Toby Davis and Lincoln Feast.)
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