WASHINGTON (AP) — Dan Evans won his second ATP Tour title by beating Tallon Griekspoor 7-5, 6-3 in a rain-interrupted DC Open final on Sunday.
Evans, a 33-year-old from Britain, saved four break points in the last game before ending the match with a service winner. He is the oldest champion in Washington since Jimmy Connors was 35 when he won the event in 1988.
Evans arrived in Washington with an 8-18 record this season before going 5-0.
“I had to keep telling myself it was match-by-match and not so long ago I wasn’t playing great,” he said. “It was a good effort mentally to just stay in the present and keep fighting for each point. And I did a great job of that this week.”
Action was suspended Sunday at 2-all in the second set because of a thunderstorm. After play eventually resumed in front of just a smattering of spectators, Evans needed about 25 minutes to wrap up his first championship at a 500-level tournament.
Rain returned shortly after the match concluded.
“Any title is special. It’s obviously the biggest of my career,” Evans said. “I played some very good tennis this week and super happy to come out on top.”
Earlier Sunday, Coco Gauff beat Maria Sakkari 6-2, 6-3 in the women’s final.
Evans was seeded No. 9 in the hard-court tuneup for the U.S. Open and will move up from No. 30 to a career-high No. 21 in the rankings on Monday.
His only other tour title came in Melbourne, Australia, in 2021.
Evans eliminated No. 2 seed Frances Tiafoe in the quarterfinals. No. 12 seed Griekspoor, a 27-year-old from the Netherlands, defeated top-seeded Taylor Fritz in the semifinals.
“Good week,” Griekspoor said, “but not good enough today.”
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