A MAIDEN title-winner was crowned in Dubai with victory over a qualifier in the final, as the top two seeds in Acapulco made their way through to the final.

Russian wildcard Aslan Karatsev‘s remarkable start to 2021 has continued with the Australian Open semi-finalist claiming his maiden ATP Tour title with victory in the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships. The 27-year-old defeated South African qualifier Lloyd Harris in straight sets 6-3 6-2, to cap off a remarkable week which included four wins against seeds, including second seed Andrey Rublev, and Next Gen Finals past winner Jannik Sinner. Unlike those two matches, Karatsev had this win a little easier, getting up in just 75 minutes.

“I am super happy. It was a tight match. [I was] really nervous,” Karatsev said post-match. “I want to congratulate my opponent for the final [run]. He did a great week… I am happy that I won.”

Karatsev weathered Harris’ eight aces to produce three of his own, whilst saving both break points and breaking his South African opponent three times from eight chances. He controlled play off his first serve, with a whopping 83 per cent success rate off a 62 per cent clip, also winning 50 per cent of his second serve points, compared to Harris’ two of 12. With 27 winners to his name, Karatsev added his name to the history books as a first time winner, the fourth to do so in 2021 in what is really changing of the guard, and also the third Russian to win a title.

“You never know when [success] is coming,” Karatsev said. “I did a good job with my team, with my coach and it has happened now.

“I am really happy with my performance and [I am] really happy with my game. “At the beginning of the year, [I was happy] to play an Australian Open semi-final [and] to show a great level. “After the Australian Open, I kept going, practising hard… I arrived here with more belief than in Doha. “I showed a fantastic week and a good game.”

The title moves Karatsev into world number 27, a remarkable bolt up the order since entering the year at 114th. He will now head to Miami where he will test his hand at his maiden ATP 1000 tournament in a 96-player field.

DUBAI TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS FINAL RESULT:

[WC] Aslan Karatsev (RUS) defeated [Q] Lloyd Harris (RSA) 6-3 6-2

Despite a number of upsets over the course of the tournament, the two top ranked players in Acapulco reached the Abierto Mexicano final. Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas and German Alexander Zverev both booked their spots in the decider with straight sets wins over their lower ranked opponents to advance through to tonights’ final.

Tsitsipas won 6-1 6-3 over Italian teenager Lorenzo Musetti in one hour and 19 minutes, only serving the two aces, but winning 22 of 26 first serve points, then capitalising with more than half of his second serve points (52 per cent), compared to Musetti’s 56 and 41 per cent. The Greek top seed also did not face a break point, and broke four times from eight chances against the 19-year-old during the dominant win.

“Matches like this are really important and I’m happy to be playing well,” Tsitsipas said post-match. “Acapulco has been treating me really well and the fans have been giving me love and support. We’ll definitely see a lot from Lorenzo in the future, he has a wonderful one-handed backhand and creates lots of opportunities. He showed his level this week.”

In the other semi-final, Zverev was too good for a determined Dominik Koepfer, with the all-German battle lasting two hours and nine minutes before Zverev got up, 6-4 7-6, including a 7-5 second set tiebreaker. The second seed only served the three aces – the same as Koepfer, but had seven less double faults (1-8), whilst converting 71 per cent of his first serve points and 54 per cent of his second serve points. Koepfer was solid with 59 and 53 per cent respectively, but could only break Zverev twice, whilst the second seed broke his lower ranked compatriot three times during the two-hour and nine-minute match.

“He’s (Koepfer) a very tough player to play right now. He won some incredible matches,” Zverev said post-match. “Beating [Milos] Raonic on a hard court the way that he did is very tough. I think he showed that he is somebody who can play extremely well on this level. Today, honestly, I thought I played a not bad match and he gave me a tough time.”

Tsitsipas holds a 5-1 record over Zverev, and in fact has won the last five battles – including three straight-set wins over the German – when they have faced off. Zverev will be hoping to wind back to the clock to 2018 when he last defeated Tsitsipas in order to cause an upset in the final.

“I am really looking forward to the final,” Tsitsipas said. “Sascha is someone I’ve played against in the past and it’s never easy. We’re both really hungry and we’re both very competitive.”

ABIERTO MEXICANO SEMI-FINALS RESULTS:

[1] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) defeated [Q] Lorenzo Musetti (ITA) 6-1 6-3
[2] Alexander Zverev (GER) defeated Dominik Koepfer (GER) 6-4 7-6

Picture credit: Francois Nel/Getty Images