Frances Tiafoe, ranked top seed at an ATP Tour event for the first time in his career, was victorious over Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry, winning the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship singles title 7-6(1) 7-6(6).
Neither player faced a break point during the opening set. Tiafoe earned a mini-break on the third point of the tie-break and did not concede another point in claiming the first set.
Tiafoe extended his lead with a break in the fifth game of the second set. He would then serve for the match at 5-4, but Etcheverry broke him to level the set. It was the first and only time Tiafoe had been broken in the entire tournament, holding in 97.4% percent of his service games .
The second set went to a tie-break, and Tiafoe clinched the title with a 124 MPH ace down the middle on his second championship point.
For Tiafoe, 25, it was his second career ATP Tour title and first since Delray Beach in 2018. It was his sixth career final.
The top seed who was ranked No. 15 at the start of the week, Tiafoe, is the highest-ranked Houston champion and the first top seed to win since No. 4 Andy Roddick in 2005.
Both players will reach a career-high in Monday’s ATP Tour Rankings, with Tiafoe projected to rise to No. 11 while Etcheverry is expected to jump to No. 58.
Etcheverry, 23, was appearing in his second career ATP final after first doing so at Santiago last month.
The ATP Tour will return to River Oaks Country Club from March 30-April 7, 2024. Repost from Men’s Clay. Court.
