Tommy Paul capped off a dominant week by defeating Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets to win his second title at the BNP Paribas Nordic Open in Stockholm.
The fourth-seeded American, who did not drop a set this week, defeated Dimitrov 6-4, 6-3 in 85 minutes for his third win of the year and third win of the year, following successes at Dallas and Queen’s Club. He also won the tournament twice. In 2021, he also lifted the trophy at the ATP250 tournament.
It was also an important win that fulfilled Paul’s hopes of reaching the ATP Finals for the second time in his career. The 27-year-old surpassed Dimitrov in the race to qualify for the season’s final tournament of the year’s top eight players, which had never played before.
It was expected to be a close battle between the 4th and 3rd seeds, but Paul won the second game and quickly took a 4-1 lead. Dimitrov then won two games in a row and almost tied the score, but Paul broke him straight back and took the first set after a quick exchange of breaks.
Paul then got the decisive break in the penultimate game of the second set and served out the match. This means he joins Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Matteo Berrettini as the only players to win at least three times on tour this season.
“This is a very special place to me,” Paul said. “This is where I won my first title a few years ago and it was a dream to come out this week and play the same level of tennis. I feel like I’m getting a little bit better with every match I play. I had a great performance today, so I was definitely happy with the performance.”
Bautista Agut wins the Antwerp title
Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut won his 12th career title and his first since 2022 with an emphatic victory over Jiri Rehekka in the European Open final in Antwerp.
The world No. 60 saw off the likes of Luca van Assche, Thomas Martin Echeverry, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Hugo Gastón en route to the final, defeating Rehekka 7-5 6-1 to take the ATP He became the second oldest winner on tour. – second only to Novak Djokovic – this season.
Bautista Agut hit 17 winners against five unforced errors, and Reheca got a masterclass from the Spaniard over the course of 75 minutes. Bautista Agut has returned to the top 50 of the PIF ATP Rankings with his fourth consecutive victory over the Czech player.
“This is something very special,” Bautista Agut said. “I broke my foot last year, so I had to fight really hard this year. Even though I’m back down to No. 120 in the world, I still practice with a smile on my face, try to become a better player, and I’m going to fight until the end. I think it was natural for me to have a week like this at the end of my career. ”
Elsewhere, at the Almaty Open in Kazakhstan, Russia’s Karen Khachanov defeated Gabriel Diallo 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 to win his first indoor hard court title since 2018.
The third-seeded Diallo went deep into many matches, amassing 19 break point opportunities and converting six of them, winning in just over two hours and 20 minutes, adding to the title he won in Doha in February. Ta.
Kasatkina overcomes title fight to win Chinese title
Eastbourne champion Daria Kasatkina defeated Russian compatriot Mila Andreeva 6-0, 4-6, 6-4 in the Ningbo Open final in China on Sunday for her second win of the season.
Kasatkina, who has lost four finals this year, easily got through the first set against a nervous-looking teenage opponent, but stumbled in the second set and was tied by her best friend, who made it to the final. Brought the set to the deciding set.
Andreeva built a 3-0 lead on her third run, but a series of unforced errors allowed her opponent to come back and Kasatkina came from behind to take the win and return to the world top 10.
“To be honest, it’s been a very tough week,” Kasatkina said after the win. “Every game was very tough. We came back from two match points in the quarter-finals and today we went from 3-0 to almost 4-0.” [down] In the third set.
“I’ve been working through a lot this week so this trophy means a lot to me and I’m really proud of myself.”
What’s happening on Sky Sports Tennis in October?
- Erste Bank Open, Vienna – ATP 500 (October 21-27)
- Switzerland Indoor, Basel – ATP 500 (October 21-27)
- Guangzhou Open, China – WTA 250 (October 21-27)
- Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis, Tokyo – WTA 500 (October 21-27)
Sky Sports+ has officially launched. sky tvstreaming service now The Sky Sports app will give Sky Sports customers access to over 50% more live sport at no extra cost this year. Click here for more information.
