CINCINNATI : France’s Arthur Fils captured his first ATP Masters 1000 title on Sunday with a 6-3 1-6 6-0 victory over American Frances Tiafoe, while Coco Gauff beat compatriot Jessica Pegula to win the Cincinnati Open women’s title for the second time.
Fils, the 21st seed, made a fast start in his first Masters 1000 final, breaking early to take a 3-0 lead before Tiafoe got on the scoreboard with a hold.
The Frenchman continued to pressure Tiafoe from the baseline, repeatedly attacking his second serve and forcing errors to move 5-3 ahead. He then closed out the opening set with three successive aces without dropping a point.
Tiafoe, playing in his second Cincinnati final, responded emphatically in the second set. The 17th seed broke in the second game and opened a 3-0 lead, using his forehand to move Fils around the court.
Fils held to love to get on the board, but Tiafoe broke again for 5-1 and levelled the match.
The Frenchman quickly regained control in the decider, breaking twice to race into a 4-0 lead as Tiafoe’s backhand errors mounted.
Fils maintained his pace and aggression to complete a bagel in the final set, sealing the biggest title of his career after a lengthy rally.
“It was tough, because I started very, very strong, and then in the second set I lost a little bit of focus,” Fils said.
“To be able to win one title like this means a lot to me… It’s a lot of training, a lot of things, a lot of sacrifice.”
GAUFF DOMINATES PEGULA
Gauff secured her second Cincinnati title with a commanding 6-2 6-4 victory over world number three Pegula.
The 22-year-old raced into a 5-0 lead in the opening set, breaking twice and capitalising on Pegula’s double faults.
Pegula, who had beaten defending champion Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals, pulled a break back at 5-2 without dropping a point but could not overcome Gauff’s powerful forehand.
The world number four carried the momentum into the second set, breaking in the second game to move 3-0 ahead.
Pegula eventually settled, holding to love in the seventh game before breaking Gauff to cut the deficit to 5-4.
But Gauff responded immediately, breaking back to love to close out the match and claim her 12th career singles title.
The victory gives Gauff further momentum ahead of the U.S. Open, where she will seek to add to her two Grand Slam titles.
