Australian No.1 Alex de Minaur has won his second title of the season after downing Taylor Fritz in straight sets at the BB&T Atlanta Open on Sunday.
Contesting his first final on the tour since January, the 20-year-old produced an emphatic display behind his serve during his 6-3, 7-6(2), victory. Hitting eight aces and dropping only two points behind his first serve throughout the match. De Minaur has won the title without facing a single break point in the entire tournament. According to the ATP, he is only the third player to achieve this since 1991. Following in the footsteps of Tommy Haas’ triumph at the 2007 Memphis Open and John Isner’s 2007 win in Newport.
“This one is really special to me. I felt like I really needed this. To start the year with a bang and then be slowed down by injuries… you expect your level to be right there once you come back, but you have to slowly grind your way back,” said De Minaur. “I’ve been playing great tennis and felt like if I could keep it all together, the good results will come. This is a week that will really help me out.”
De Mionaur missed almost two months of the tour earlier this year due to osteitis pubis. A condition where inflammation of the pubis symphysis joint causes lower abdominal and pelvic pain. Since returning from injury, the Next Gen star hadn’t won back-to-back matches in a tournament until Atlanta.
“I don’t think I could start the American hard-court season any better than this,” said De Minaur. “I’m happy with where I am and enjoying every day. I can’t wait to get back on court and keep improving.”
Runner-up Fritz is also drawing positives from his week in Atlanta, where he reached only his third ATP final and second of the season after Eastbourne. It was the first time he had reached the final of an ATP tournament whilst seeded. Becoming the fifth American man is history to do so in Atlanta.
“It’s been really great playing here,” Fritz said. “I enjoyed the crowd support all week. Congrats to Alex. He played a really good final and he deserved it.”
De Minaur is the youngest player to have ever won the Atlanta title and the second Australian after Nick Kyrgios back in 2016. He will next play at the Citi Open where he is defending 300 points after reaching the final last year.
