Tennis News:
Doha, Qatar; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Delray Beach, Florida; Marseille, France
Written by Edda Bevilacqua
Doha, Qatar: Amanda Anisimova Wins Women’s Title at Doha
American Amanda Anisimova defeated Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, to capture the Qatar Open tournament in Doha. World-ranked number 41, Anisimova is the lowest ranked champion in the history of the tournament and the first American to win the title since Monica Seles triumphed in 2002. Jelena Ostapenko achieved a stunning victory over Poland’s Iga Swiatek to make the final, but Anisimova was dominant in the final.
After a rain delay, when the players were even at 3-3 in the second set, Anisimova broke Ostapenko’s serve and went on to win the tournament in one hour, 21 minutes. Anisimova said of her victory: “To be able to lift the trophy here for my first WTA 1000 is super special. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my team. I love you guys. Without you this wouldn’t have been possible.”
Marseille Open: Ugo Humbert Wins Marseille Open
Frenchman Ugo Humbert successfully defended his title at the Marseille Open, defeating Hamad Medjedovic of Serbia in straight sets, 7-6, 6-4. The first set was hotly contested, with Medjedovic taking a 6-5 lead in the first set. However, Humbert held off set point to force a deciding tiebreak, which he won easily. Humbert said of his title defense in Marseille: “It means a lot to me because it’s in France. It’s so nice to be back in Marseille. I love to play here. The fans were so good; they gave me the energy to win all four matches, so thanks to them.”
Humbert has an impressive record on home soil, with a record of 18-1 in matches contested at French tournaments. His only loss came to Germany’s Alexander Zverev at the Paris Masters Championship.
Buenos Aires: Brazilian Teenager Joao Fonseca Captures Buenos Aires Tournament
Eighteen-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca defeated Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina 6-4, 7-6 to take his first title on the main tour. He is the youngest Brazilian player ever to win an Association of Touring Professionals (ATP) title and the fourth-youngest player to win a main tour title, after Kei Nishikori, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz. Fonseca said of his win: “Unbelievable week. Even in Argentina, there are Brazilians cheering for me. That’s amazing.”
Fonseca adds the Buenos Aires title to his victory at the Next Gen Finals in 2024 and a Challenger title in Canberra, Australia. He followed these wins up with a win over Andrey Rublev in the first round of the Australian Open, where he came through the qualifying rounds.
Following his triumph, Fonseca was congratulated by Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz on social media: “Impressive, Joao! Many congrats!”
Delray Beach, Florida: Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia Wins Delray Tournament
The Delray Beach Open began with twelve Americans, including Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul, among the competitors but, in the end, it was Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic who triumphed, defeating Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 3-6, 6-1, 7-5. It was Kecmanovic’s second career title since winning in Austria in 2020 and his second appearance in a final since 2023, when he finished runner-up to Taylor Fritz at Delray Beach. He summed up his feelings about his win: “Just relief. It was a stressful week. Finally winning a tournament after five years was just special.”
It appeared Davidovich-Fokina was on his way to the title when he had match point, but Kecmanovic came back from 2-5 down in the third set to go up 6-5. Finally, a miss by Davidovich-Fokina on match point gave the title to Kecmanovic.
