What a night it proved to be for the next generation of tennis players as two youngsters who are still rather unknown to the tennis world won their maiden titles. Stefanos Tsitsipas who I have written about on several occasions this year won the Stockholm ATP title beating Ernests Gulbis in straight sets. That was an expected win for Tsitsipas who has already come close twice this year with finals in Toronto and Barcelona - both where unfortunately he had to face Rafa Nadal. But not this time as fate favoured the Greek giving him a far easier opponent than Nadal which he happily swept aside.
Tsitsipas won 6-4, 6-4 and proved too hot to handle from the baseline for Gulbis producing a comfortable two sets of dominant baseline tennis where he rarely needed to make a foray forward and show off his net skills. The 20 year old becomes the first Greek player in history to win an ATP Tour title and this win will sky rocket him to fame in his home country.
The Young Hercules of Tennis
Ok Tsitsipas standing at 6ft 4 inches may have the height of a young Hercules but his rather slender frame certainly doesn't resemble that of the fearless Greek demigod. Nevertheless sometimes there's more to being a hero than just sheer brawn. This young lad has pulled off some jaw dropping victories this year against the odds delivering legendary on court antics against players far higher than him in both stature and rankings.
It's a year of many accomplishments for the young Greek not merely focusing on his first two ATP finals but also regarding the fact he managed to break into the top 20. Currently ranked 16th in the world he started the year at 91st. That's a huge 75 places he has climbed due to his outstanding tournament performances that have seen him claim wins over the likes of Richard Gasquet, Dominic Thiem, Kevin Anderson, David Goffin, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev. Not a bad list of slain foes for a guy who has spent the majority of the year playing as a teenager.
Edmund Breaks Monfils Defense & Claims His Maiden ATP Title
In the far more entertaining maiden title win of the two tonight Kyle Edmund produced the best performance of his career to date to finally break through the Monfils defense which at times looked impenetrable. It took all of Edmund's fire power and conviction to create a big enough kink in the Monfils armour that he could exploit. Monfils took the first set 6-4 and was the stronger of the two on serve as he reversed the stats on Edmund by this time being the one to reign down aces well into double figures with Edmund lagging well behind with just 4.
Having to work harder on serve Edmund did extremely well to hang in on some of his own service games as he struggled to find the ace count he did in his Semi Final against Gasquet. Nevertheless his forehand was on fire tonight as he hit countless winners to overcome a Monfils who covered the court like a Gazelle showing a level of fitness and flexibility rarely seen by any player on the tour. Edmund literally barraged Monfils to the point that you could see the Frenchman gasping for air behind the baseline and still not recovering games later.
Edmund steadied himself in the second set after losing the first refusing to go away or panic even when he gave away the break of serve he worked so hard to get in the 7th game. Even when he then failed to take 4 break points in the next game on the Monfils serve he held his nerve to hold serve and take it to a tie break which he ran away with winning 7-2.
The final set could not have been more evenly balanced in terms of the service quality and rallying from both players. Monfils relying on more aces and his defensive qualities to see him through his service games where as Edmund leaning on his sheer forehand power which he used to boss Monfils around court and literally tire him to the point of collapse - the physical exhaustion Edmund inflicted on Monfils was the kink in the armour he was looking to create. In addition to moving Monfils around at breathtaking pace, rarely did Edmund flinch when given the chance to come forward and take each of his forehands on to exploit Monfils deep position with wide angled winners.
When the final tie break came around it was a fitting end with Edmund just pipping Monfils to match point with a mini break. Edmund's final forehand down the line was the perfect way for him to seal his Maiden ATP Crown. Tonight in Belgium Edmund showed just why many believe he is a worthy successor to Andy Murray with a resilient and display full of conviction and with no sign of panic against a worthy finalist who asked absolutely everything of the Brit.
Watch: Edmund's Maiden ATP Title Win: Epic Clash Between Contrasting Styles of Play
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