Frances Tiafoe lifted the second ATP title of his career with a hard-fought 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (8-6) victory over Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the final of the Houston Open on Sunday.
The 25-year-old American of Sierra Leone descent had faced Gijs Brouwer earlier in the semi-finals played also on Sunday, and overcame the Dutchman 6-4, 6-1.
He was back on the clay court four hours later for the final with he and Etcheverry holding each others serve in the opening set to force a tiebreak which Tiafoe cruised to 7-1.
The second set saw Tiafoe lose his serve in the fifth game but he responded back by breaking his Argentine opponent in the 10th game to level the set 5-5. The second tiebreak was not straightforward for Tiafoe but he held firm to win it 8-6.
There's a new sheriff in town ????@FTiafoe overcomes Etcheverry 7-6(1) 7-6(6) to claim the ????.@mensclaycourt | #USClay pic.twitter.com/86Nqn3WvPw
— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 10, 2023
Tiafoe was ranked top seed for the first time in his career in Houston and did not lose a set all tournament and dropped serve just once which was in the final.
It is his first title since winning the ATP 250 event in Delray Beach in 2018.
Victory in Houston will see Tiafoe, currently ranked 15th, rise to a career high 11th in the ATP world rankings
