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LAS VEGAS (Nevada), March 10: Unseeded American Sam Querrey captured his first ATP title by beating South African qualifier Kevin Anderson 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the Las Vegas Open final on Sunday.
The 20-year-old Querrey, 66th in the world rankings, was successful with only 57 percent of his first serves but blasted 12 aces and saved nine of 10 break points to win the two-hour match.
Anderson took the opening set with consistently powerful first serves, winning 20-of-24 points on his first delivery.
But the 6-foot-7 (2.01-metre) South African’s serve became less of a weapon as the match wore on, allowing Querrey to break him once in each of the final two sets.
The 21-year-old Anderson, ranked 175th in the world, was hoping to become the first South African to win an ATP title since Wesley Moodie in Tokyo in 2005.
SERENA WINS BANGALORE OPEN
BANGALORE: Former world No 1 Serena Williams flexed her muscles on the big points to shut out Swiss No 12 Patty Schnyder in the final of the Bangalore Open on Sunday.
American world No 11 Williams was inconsistent for the most part but drew from her wealth of experience to edge out fourth seed Schnyder 7-5, 6-3 in 83 minutes for her first title of the season.
Third seed Williams, who beat older sister and world number seven Venus in the semi-finals on Saturday, was stretched by left-handed Schnyder, who subtly varied her angles to tire her opponent.
But the American, playing her first tournament since the Australian Open quarter-final in January, was up to the task and to every trick thrown at her by her opponent.
Williams, who skipped tournaments in February to recover from dental surgery, broke her opponent in the sixth game of the opening set, but lost her serve immediately and admonished herself.
The first set was tied at 5-5 when Williams, 26, went up a gear.
Williams, one of the hardest hitters of the ball on the circuit, fired in seven aces compared to her opponent’s lone ace.
The American, who ended on the wrong side of the result in both of their meetings last year, broke Schnyder in the 12th to win the opening set.
Schnyder went up 3-1 in the second set against an inconsistent Serena, but the multiple Grand Slam winner came back strongly, winning the next five games to wrap up the match.—Reuters
