KARL CORBETT in ATLANTA
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Alex De Minaur, the Champion in Atlanta as confirmed by the video board. Photo: Karl Corbett
Champion Alex De Minaur and Finalist Taylor Fritz after receiving their trophies. Photo: Karl Corbett
Alex De Minaur celebrates after winning the title. Photo: Karl Corbett
Sunday July 28th in Atlanta, and it's the finals at the men’s 250 tennis tournament here. Our competitors are American Taylor Fritz and Australian Alex De Minaur. Since the tournament moved here from Indianapolis in 2010, an American has won every title every year except one, and an Australian won it that year. An American and an Australian face each other across the net today. Cloudy skies and temperatures in the upper 80s, with a slight breeze, make for ideal conditions for match play. With veteran Mohammed Leyani in the chair, our match gets underway right on time.
Fritz serves. He has to shake the cobwebs off and save a break point in order to hold. De Minaur gives up just a single point in his service game and we are underway. Serving at 2-3. De Minaur is hitting the ball so hard he breaks a string. He holds at love once again. From the chair, Leyani makes sure the racket is sent to be restrung.
At 3-3, Fritz faces a breakpoint. The crowd, pulling for the American, erupts once he saves it. But De Minaur, unflappable, earns another break point…. and Fritz double faults. They change hands with De Minaur serving, and leading 4-3. The crowd calls out: “Come on, Taylor!”, but it doesn't help. De Minaur holds again and leads, 5-3. Fritz is looking discouraged… and De Minaur keeps charging: scrambling to run balls down and sending back an unpredictable variety of ground strokes over the net. Fritz wins a point, and only one, in his own service game. So De Minaur takes his seat, having won the first set, 6-3. He's given up just one point against serve, and has taken the first set in 30 minutes.
Mohamed Lahyani in the Chair for the Atlanta Final. Photo: Karl Corbett
Second set, serving at 1-2, Fritz delights the crowd with an ace down the “T”, a challenge won and a screaming forehand winner down the line to take the game. We stand at 2-2. However, the championship seems to be slipping away from Taylor Fritz. Fritz doesn't seem to have any answers… and he can't make a real dent in De Minaur’s service games. In a matter of minutes, De Minaur walks to the bench with another service hold, and leads 4-3.
New balls, please.
Taylor Fritz crushes a first serve in Atlanta. Photo: Karl Corbett
Fritz leads, 40-love on his serve, gives up a point and then smacks a 128 mile per hour service ace. We're tied at 4-4. It's been one hour, exactly since the match began. The crowd is like a rollercoaster, cheering on Fritz's serve and deadly quiet on De Minaur’s, especially in this next game. Another love hold puts De Minaur ahead, 5-4. The crowd roars as Fritz holds at love. The score is 5-5. De Minaur takes the ball and runs Fritz side to side, eventually blowing the ball by him, point after point and caps his love hold with an ace. It's 6-5, with De Minaur in the lead, and we are running out of time.
Fritz aces, then makes a rare appearance at the net to take the first two points and marches on to hold. Now it’s 6-6. Let’s have a tie-break. Fritz hasn't lost his confidence, but De Minaur keeps putting a dent in it. Fritz wins De Minaur’s first service point on a challenge. De Minaur takes it right back on the next point. 1-1. Fritz takes another De Minaur service point to go up 2-1. De Minaur takes it right back. It's 2-2, and then the wheels come off. De Minaur rips off five straight points and it's over.
Alex De Minaur on his was to the second title of his career. Photo: Karl Corbett
Taylor Fritz serving big in Atlanta. Photo: Karl Corbett
Fritz, known as a big server, hit nine aces in the match. De Minaur nearly matched him with 8. De Minaur lost only 10 points on serve in his 10 service games as he took this title. It was just flawless tennis.
It's a final. The trophies are presented. Everyone is thanked, and it's on to the next town for this circus that we call professional tennis. Fritz has hit a new career-high at number 30, and he has off to Los Cabos. De Minaur has his second tour-level title…. and he's off to Washington. We look forward to their next meeting.
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