Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo wins his first ATP Tour title

Open this photo in gallery: Canada's Gabriel Diallo reacts after winning the final of Libema Open tennis tournament in Rosmalen on Sunday.SANDER KONING/AFP/Getty Images

Canadian Gabriel Diallo battled past Belgium’s Zizou Bergs 7-5 7-6(8) in the final of the Libema Open in Den Bosch on Sunday to clinch his maiden ATP Tour title after Belgian third seed Elise Mertens beat Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the women’s final.

In his second ATP Tour final after losing to Karen Khachanov in Almaty last October, Diallo confidently overcame Bergs, never allowing the Belgian to win more than one game in a row.

The Canadian, who saved his opponent’s two break points, was down 6-4 in the tiebreaker but won three straight points and went on to take the win.

The 23-year-old became only the fourth Canadian man this century to win a tour-level title, and first to win an ATP Tour singles title on grass.

Diallo, ranked 55, will break into the top 50 for the first time after dispatching Australian sixth seed Jordan Thompson, Russian third seed Khachanov and Frenchman Ugo Humbert, seeded second, in the earlier rounds.

“Thank you to my team ... you guys have no idea how much you mean to me,” Diallo said.

“Since the moment we started working together, we were never scared of dreaming big. We were always dreaming and striving for these moments. And today, hopefully, it’s the first of many.”

MERTENS OVERPOWERS RUSE

Belgium’s Mertens won the women’s final as she beat Romanian qualifier Ruse 6-3 7-6(4) to claim her second WTA Tour title of the year, adding to her victory in the Singapore Tennis Open in February.

The win earned the 29-year-old her tenth WTA singles title and first on grass, though she has won the Wimbledon women’s doubles title in 2021.

“It’s been an incredible week,” said Mertens, who had to dig deep to save 11 match points and overcome two-times winner Ekaterina Alexandrova in Saturday’s semi-final.

“I mean yesterday I had 11 match points against me. I managed to still win that match. It’s tennis, anything can happen. So I’m very proud that I took that chance yesterday and today.”

Mertens trailed 3-1 in the first set but recovered from her shaky start and saved two break points to secure a crucial hold in the fifth game, which turned the tide of the contest.

The set was brought back on serve at 3-3 after Ruse double-faulted twice, and Mertens quickly reeled off three more games to clinch the opener.

The pair traded breaks halfway through the second set and Ruse was able to earn two set points at 5-4, but Mertens showed great resilience to hold and force a tiebreaker, which she powered through with little trouble.

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