Tennis – Next Gen ATP Finals – King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – December 22, 2024 Brazil’s Joao Fonseca in action during the final match against Learner Tien of the U.S. REUTERS/Stringer Brazilian 18-year-old Joao Fonseca defeated Argentine fifth seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-4, 7-6 (1) to win his first ATP Tour title at the IEB+ Argentina Open on Sunday in Buenos Aires.
Fonseca is the youngest South American player to win a tournament in the ATP Tour era, according to the tour’s website. He saved two match points in the quarterfinals against another Argentine, Mariano Navone, and polished off the final Sunday in an hour and 45 minutes.
Fonseca won 35 of 48 first-service points (72.9 percent) to make up for losing three of four break points. He finished with a 26-16 edge in total winners.
Open 13 Provence
French second seed Ugo Humbert successfully defended his title in Marseille by beating Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic 7-6 (4), 6-4 in the final.
Humbert smashed 13 aces without committing a double fault and won an overwhelming 27 of his 33 first-service points (81.8 percent).
The 26-year-old, who now has seven career ATP titles, also capitalized when Medjedovic went to his second serve, winning 17 of 28 second-return points (60.7 percent).
Delray Beach Open
Serbian No. 7 seed Miomir Kecmanovic saved two championship points and rallied to beat No. 8 seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 to win the trophy in Florida.
Kecmanovic had eight aces without a double fault, saved 5 of 7 break points and converted 4 of 6 opportunities to break Davidovich Fokina’s serve. Yet Kecmanovic found himself down 5-2 in the third set and Davidovich Fokina went up 40-15.
Kecmanovic saved the next two match points and won the game, the start of a five-game run to turn the match on its head. It is the second career ATP title for the 25-year-old.
–Field Level Media
