Reuters
Source: Reuters
Canadian Gabriel Diallo battled past Belgium’s Zizou Bergs 7-5 7-6(8) in the final of the Libema Open in Den Bosch on Sunday to clinch his maiden ATP Tour title after Belgian third seed Elise Mertens beat Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the women’s final.
In his second ATP Tour final after losing to Karen Khachanov in Almaty last October, Diallo confidently overcame Bergs, never allowing the Belgian to win more than one game in a row.
The Canadian, who saved his opponent’s two break points, was down 6-4 in the tiebreaker but won three straight points and went on to take the win.
The 23-year-old became only the fourth Canadian man this century to win a tour-level title, and first to win an ATP Tour singles title on grass.
Diallo, ranked 55, will break into the top 50 for the first time after dispatching Australian sixth seed Jordan Thompson, Russian third seed Khachanov and Frenchman Ugo Humbert, seeded second, in the earlier rounds.
“Thank you to my team… you guys have no idea how much you mean to me,” Diallo said.
“Since the moment we started working together, we were never scared of dreaming big. We were always dreaming and striving for these moments. And today, hopefully, it’s the first of many.”
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