By Tennis Now | Sunday, October 21, 2018
Stefanos Tsitsipas swept qualifier Ernests Gulbis, 6-4, 6-4, to capture his maiden ATP title and make history as the first Greek to claim an ATP title.
Photo credit: Intrum Stockholm Open
Stefanos Tsitsipas soared to a Stockholm milestone.
The 20-year-old Tsitsipas swept qualifier Ernests Gulbis, 6-4, 6-4, in the Stockholm Open final to capture his maiden ATP title and make history as the first Greek to claim an ATP title.
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Tsitsipas, who fell to world No. 1 Rafael Nadal in his prior two finals in Barcelona and Toronto, spoiled Gulbis' perfect finals record with superb proactive play.
"It's the best day of my life," an ecstatic Tsitsipas told the Stockholm crowd afterward.
The 145th-ranked Gulbis, who toppled top-seeded John Isner in the semifinals, carried an ATP-best 6-0 record in Tour-level finals into today's showdown.
Facing an explosive server, Tsitsipas set the tone on his own serve.
Stinging serves with authority, the third-seeded Greek crunched seven aces, won 83 percent (24 of 29) of first-serve points and denied the only break point he faced.
Contesting his first ATP final in four years, Gulbis was the 11th qualifier to contest a title match this year. Qualifiers had gone 8-2 in finals, but Tsitsipas broke once in each set and made those breaks stand.
The world No. 16 won seven straight sets earning 250 ATP ranking points with his first career title.