By Tennis Now | Sunday, September 29, 2019
Alex de Minaur scored the lone break in the final game of a 7-6(4), 6-4 win over Adrian Mannarino collecting his third title of the year in Zhuhai.
Photo credit: @ZhuahiChampions
Patience is a virtue and proved validation for Alex de Minaur.
Adrian Mannarino denied the first 12 break points he faced in today's Zhuhai Championships final.
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A stubborn de Minaur converted his 13th break point scoring the lone break in the last game of a 7-6(4), 6-4 triumph to collect his third title of the season.
The 20-year-old Aussie joins Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Daniil Medvedev and Dominic Thiem in a five-way tie for second place on the ATP 2019 title leader list.
US Open champion Rafael Nadal leads the ATP with four tournament titles this year.
In the first meeting between the pair, de Minaur stood toe-to-toe on the baseline with the left-handed Frenchman, absorbing Mannarino's crosscourt forehand with accurate backhand strikes.
De Minaur did not face a break point and permitted just six points on his second serve in a two hour, five-minute victory.
The seventh-seeded Aussie completed a week that saw him defeat compatriot John Millman, former world No. 1 Andy Murray, fourth-seeded Borna Coric, second-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut and Mannarino en route to the title.
All three of de Minaur's titles have come on hard court. The 31st-ranked Aussie beat Taylor Fritz to win Atlanta in July after stopping Andreas Seppi to claim his first ATP title in Sydney in January.