By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday April 9, 2023
Frances Tiafoe claimed his second career title on Sunday in Houston, defeating Tomas Martin Etcheverry in two tiebreak sets.
Photo Source: TTV
Frances Tiafoe didn’t hit a ball in anger at the US Men’s Clay-Court Championships in Houston until Saturday. Once he got going, he never stopped.
The 25-year-old never dropped a set as he raced to the title, capping his run off with his second consecutive day of double duty, defeating Gijs Brouwer in the semis (6-4, 6-1) and Argentina’s Tomas Marin Etcheverry in the final (7-6(1), 7-6(6)).
The triumph marks Tiafoe’s first title in over four years, since he claimed the Delray Beach Open title in 2018.
“What a match tonight,” Tiafoe said. “I don’t know you that well, but I know you real well after today. It was an absolute war and an unbelievable final.”
For a player that entered the week with a 21-30 record on clay, the victory comes as a surprise, but put in context of Tiafoe’s steady surge up the rankings, it makes sense.
Tiafoe was ranked 30 in the world last year when he appeared in Houston and lost in the quarterfinals. A year later he’s a much more confident athlete and his ranking shows it – he will rise to a career-high ranking of No.11 in the world in Monday’s ATP rankings.
He came through a tight clash under the lights against Etcheverry in the final, dominating the first-set tiebreak to take a 7-6(1) lead.
23-year-old Etcheverry is playing the best tennis of his career, having reached the final at Santiago in February, and he kept the match very close against Tiafoe. Tiafoe had the break in the second set but he missed out on his chance to serve it out as nerves and brave hitting by Etcheverry lead to a break of serve for 5-5.
The pair would march to a tiebreak and Etcheverry continued to pressure. The Argentine led by a mini-break twice but Tiafoe gathered his composers and won four of the final five points to claim his victory in one hour and 53 minutes.