Wild-card Frances Tiafoe captured his first ATP Tour title on Sunday, defeating Peter Gojowczyk in the Delray Beach Open final to become the youngest American to win an ATP Tour title in 15 years.
The 20-year-old Tiafoe toppled the German 6-1, 6-4 as he continued his successful start to the 2018 season which has seen him beat the likes of Juan Martin Del Potro, Chung Hyeon and Denis Shapovalov.
His win marks the youngest by an American since Andy Roddick won the 2002 Houston tournament at age 19.
“I just can't believe it. A lot's going through my mind,” said World No. 91 Tiafoe. “If you would have asked me 10 years ago if I was going to win a title at 20 years old, I probably would have laughed. It's unbelievable.”
Gojowczyk has been a thorn in the side of the Americans on the ATP Tour for some time. Going into Sunday’s final, he held an eight match win streak over US opponents.
Meanwhile in Rio de Janeiro, Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman won the biggest title of his career, defeating Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 6-2, 6-3 in the final of the clay court Rio Open.
Schwartzman, who hit 15 winners and 15 unforced errors, said “this title is for my family, my friends and my aunt who is having a hard time.”
The 25-year-old, one of the shortest players on the tour at 1.75m (5ft 7ins), also jumped in the rankings from 23 to 18.
Russia’s Karen Khachanov claimed his second career title when he beat France’s Lucas Pouille 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 in the final of the Marseille ATP tournament. The 21-year-old Khachanov had won his maiden title at Chengdu in 2016.
The results (all finals):
ATP Delray Beach Open: Frances Tiafoe bt Peter Gojowczyk 6-1, 6-4.
ATP Rio Open: Diego Schwartzman bt Fernando Verdasco 6-2, 6-3.
ATP Open 13 Provenance: Karen Khachanov bt Lucas Pouille 7-5, 3-6, 7-5.
WTA Budapest Open: Alison van Uytvanck bt Dominika Cibulkova 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.