Tennis – ATP 500 – Rio Open Final – Jockey Club Brasileiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – February 24, 2019 Serbia’s Laslo Djere celebrates winning the Rio Open with the trophy REUTERS/Sergio Moraes
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Serbian Laslo Djere lifted his first ATP tour title by claiming the Rio Open crown with a clinical 6-3 7-5 victory over teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime on Sunday.
Djere, ranked 90th in the world, broke once in the first set and twice in the second to beat the Canadian, who was making history as the youngest man to reach an ATP 500 final.
The plucky 18-year old saved four match points before succumbing after two hours to the unseeded right-hander.
“It’s been the week of my dreams,” Djere said. “So many things have been achieved here. I’m really happy, excited and emotional now. I’m happy I could push through this match because it was very tough mentally and physically.”
Before this week, the 23-year old Djere had not won a match on clay all season and had never beaten a Top 10 rival.
However, he hammered world No. 8 Dominic Thiem in the first round and never lost a set on the way to his maiden title.
Djere broke Auger-Aliassime six times and was commanding with his powerful forehands and two-handed backhands.
Auger-Aliassime was the fourth teenager to reach the final of an ATP 500 event — the 13 tournaments ranked just below the Masters series — since the level was created in 2009.
Writing by Andrew Downie; Editing by Ken Ferris