Just as he lifts his left arm to toss the ball into the air, slightly in front of him, his racquet-wielding right arm begins its own upward motion simultaneously. He bounces the ball between the legs of his 6’10” frame, and then again off the court three times with his racquet, and four times with his hand. 59.John Isner coolly steps to the baseline like he has thousands of times before. He will also reach a new career high in Monday's Pepperstone ATP Rankings, which will see him move up 14 places to No.

Tiafoe also made waves on the Grand Slam stage last season by reaching the US Open semi-finals.Īrgentina's Etcheverry was seeking his first ATP Tour title after losing the Santiago final to Nicolas Jarry earlier this season. His title breakthrough comes after four straight final defeats from 2018-22, including two last season in Estoril and Tokyo.

While his level briefly dipped late in the second set, the American regrouped from 1/3 and 3/5 down in the second-set tie-break, winning lengthy rallies at 5/5 and 6/6 before clinching victory on his second match point with his 12th ace of the match.

Tiafoe was in attack mode from first ball to last on the red clay, his power tennis matched only by his stylish flair. In set two, after aggressive returning brought him to 0/40 at 2-2, the American hit the shot of the match to secure his first and only break - a half-volley from the baseline that left Etcheverry stranded and stunned. Tiafoe thrilled the Houston fans with spectacular shotmaking throughout the one-hour, 53-minute championship match, producing some of his best points at the most crucial moments.Īfter the opening set passed by without a break point, Tiafoe broke open the tie-break with a running backhand passing shot that gave him a 5/1 lead. 11 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday. His trophy run will lift him four places to a new career high of No. Tiafoe did not lose a set en route to the title at the ATP 250 and dropped serve only once at the event, when a few nervy misses prevented him from serving out the final at 5-4 in the second set. After winning two matches on Saturday, the 25-year-old repeated the feat on Sunday with a semi-final win against Gijs Brouwer before his final victory. The top seed at an event for the first time in his career, Tiafoe completed the entirety of his Houston run in two days after persistent rain delayed play for three days during the week.

Atp tennis houston 2018 live scores