(Reuters) – Chilean Cristian Garin continued his remarkable breakthrough season as he defeated Matteo Berrettini 6-1 3-6 7-6(1) in the Munich Open final on Sunday, clinching his second ATP title.
Italian Berrettini was playing his second match of the day on center court after defeating fourth-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4 6-2 in a rain-postponed semi-final in the morning session.
With just over a couple of hours to recover, the 37th-ranked Berrettini made a sluggish start in the title decider as Garin grabbed two break point opportunities to clinch the opening set in 35 minutes.
In the second set, however, Budapest champion Berrettini found his range on the forehand side to snatch a break before serving out the set to love.
Both players were tested on serve in the final set but it was Garin who dominated the tiebreak as he controlled the rallies with a string of aggressive groundstrokes.
“Everything was special for me this week, I will never forget this,” said Garin, who will surge to the world’s top 40 for the first time when the new ATP rankings are released on Monday.
It was Garin’s 19th clay court match-win of the season and his second trophy of the year after lifting the Houston title last month.
(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
