NEW YORK (AFP) – American Reilly Opelka blasted 43 aces past Canadian qualifier Brayden Schnur on the way to capturing his first ATP Tour title at the New York Open on Sunday.
Opelka outlasted Schnur 6-1, 6-7 (7/9), 7-6 (9/7) one minute beyond two hours in the first ATP championship match for either competitor.
Opelka, ranked 89th, finished two aces shy of Ivo Karlovic’s ATP best-of-three-set record of 45 from Halle in 2015 for the second consecutive match, having also smashed 43 in beating US top seed John Isner in the semi-finals.
In all, Opelka hit nine aces in the first set and 17 in both the second and third sets, the last of them on the deciding point. He suffered only two double faults and never faced a break point.
Opelka made 74 percent of his first serves, winning 61-of-69 first-serve points and 14-of-24 off his second serve.
MONFILS WINS
In Rotterdam, Gael Monfils regained control in the third set to defeat good friend Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 on Sunday and win his eighth career title at the Rotterdam Open.