Jannik Sinner of Italy earned his maiden ATP title after beating Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (3) in the Sofia Open final on Saturday. At 19 years old, Sinner became the youngest man to capture an ATP title in more than 12 years, after Kei Nishikori, then 18, in 2008 at Delray Beach. Sinner is the youngest player in the top 100, and will crack the top 40 for the first time in the rankings update on Monday.
It was an incredibly hard-fought match that saw Pospisil also trying to win his first Tour-level (He also lost Open Sud de France in February.)
Meanwhile in the doubles, Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski won their first title as a pair -- but it came at a price. The Brits reached the Sofia Open final, but missed out on the ATP finals when Jurgen Melzer and Edouard Roger-Vasselin also won their semifinal, eliminating the Brits from the year-end event. The two rival pairs were set to play in Saturday's final in Bulgaria. But as the ATP Finals start in London on Sunday, Melzer and Roger-Vasselin conceded the Sofia Open title and jetted across the pond.
Aryna Sabalenka captured her second consecutive title on Sunday with a convincing 7-5, 6-2, victory over her good friend and frequent doubles partner Elise Mertens in Linz. With her win, Sabalenka tied Simona Halep for most WTA titles won in 2020. The Belarusian, who won both Wuhan and the WTA Elite Trophy to end 2019, continues to finish her seasons on a high note. Ever the good sport, Mertens posed with her runner-up trophy as if she and Sabalenka had won the doubles crown!
Around the Net ...
I always thought Bernard Tomic's best asset was his SEX APPEAL, so maybe moving on to OnlyFans with a former "Love Island" tart makes sense. (If anyone springs for it, let me know if there's anything worth seeing!) Now do we get to suggest others players, too?
Everyone's favorite part of the off-season -- vacation photos! Robert Farah flaunts it in Costa Rica
Karen Khachanov drives 'em wild in an undisclosed location
I see it's not all play for the missing Hemsworth brother
Laslo Djere wrote a deeply moving essay worth a read: I'm Without Parents, but Not Without Hope
After losing a nail biter of a final, Pospisil hit the road with Damir "The Most Interesting Man in Vancouver" Daut and some chick who is ruining my life
Two weeks after winning his first ATP Tour level event, John Millman ended his season in Bulgaria.
I love that Borna Coric's social media has a strict diet of sexy men ... and his sister
And speaking of sexy, did you catch J.J. Wolf's mustache over the weekend?
Johnny O'Mara and Liam Broady aren't the only ones ...
Giving countryman Lloyd Glasspool beard envy
Thomas Fabbiano is 5-foot-8 of pure muscle
Martin Nosko plays it cool
Cutie Holger Rune had a busy weekend
After losing in the quarterfinals of the Paris doubles, Oliver Marach sought some R&R in Central America
A haircut and a photo-op with a Hungarian footballer for Marton Fucsovics
Dominic Thiem was all dressed up with somewhere to go
Is Taylor Fritz going to force a 53-year-old man to join Tiktok?
Nole gave Argentine-Italian youngster Luciano Darderi a thrill in London
Doubles specialist Horacio Zeballos having some fun at the O2 Arena in London
Benoit did nothing to burnish his reputation in 2020, on or off the court
German 25-year-old Maximilian Marterer clinched his seventh ATP Challenger career title, edging Czech qualifier Tomas Machac 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-5 in Sunday’s singles final in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Denis Kudla won the Challenger event in Cary, N.C., with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 win over Prajnesh Gunneswaran.
More hot mask action, with Andreas Mies and Marin Cilic ...
And did you get a load of this ginger cheering on Salvatore Caruso in Sofia?
What do you think of Andy Roddick's mustache? Doesn't seem to be related to Movember.
Action is already under way in London.
Dominic outlasted Stefanos Tsitsipas in the opening match, a reversal of last year's final.
ATP Finals off to a very hot start!
Novak Djokovic is running out of records to break
