Veteran Hungarian Marton Fucsovics struggled with the finish line in sight, but recovered to defeat Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp, 6-3, 7-6 (3) to capture the title at the ATP Tour’s Winston-Salem Open.
The 33-year old led 6-3, 5-1, and had a championship point on his racket at 5-2, but double-faulted and was broken in the eighth and 10th games of the set. van de Zandschulp held his serve, but Fuscovics steadied and held to send the set to a tiebreaker.
He went up, 6-1, in the breaker and let out a thunderous roar when his opponent misfired on a ground stroke from the baseline.
Fucsovics captured his third career title, his first on hard courts. His other titles came on clay in Geneva (2018) and Bucharest (2024).
The Hungarian, who lost just one set in the tournament, took advantage of van de Zandschulp’s second serve, winning 22 of 31 points in the match.
Fucsovics will rise to No. 63 in the rankings, while van de Zandschulp will be elevated to No. 72.
Both players will start the U.S. Open against ranked opponents. Fucsovics will face No. 27 Canadian Denis Shapavolov, while van de Zandschulp faces No. 11 Holger Rune of Denmark.
–Field Level Media
