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The rain or the edge of defeat could not prevent Radu Albot from making history on Sunday at the Delray Beach Open of VITACOST.com. Aged 29, he became the first Moldovan to win the ATP title, saving three points in the championship and beating qualifier Daniel Evans 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7).
Albot had never reached a level final round before this tournament. And in his previous two semi-finals of the ATP Tour, the Moldavian won only four matches each time. Despite a 56-minute absence of rain thwarting Albot's momentum after breaking the gap to take a 2-1 lead in the third set, the world number 82 had the courage to lift his first trophy after two hours and 51 minutes.
"It's amazing, you work so hard, you work all your life, all your career, and in the end you win a tournament," said Albot. "It's a great feeling, I think it's hard to formulate words."
Since records have been set, only one other Moldovan player has reached the Top 200 in the ATP rankings. It was Roman Borvanov (No. 200 in career), who supported Albot at Delray Beach this week. Albot set virtually all the records of Moldovan tennis, adding a jewel to his first title. He is expected to reach a career high on the sidelines of the Top 50 on Monday.
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<img alt = "Radu Albot Meet a Moldovan fan at Delray Beach. "width =" 100% "src =" http://www.atptour.com/-/media/images/news/2019/02/25/00/37/albot-moldova- graphic-2019.jpg? the = en "/>
Albot's nickname is 'The Machine', and he certainly watched the party on Sunday. Evans started early, using his backhand slice to prevent the Moldavian from gaining a lot of pace. But Albot settled in the second set and stayed on the bottom line, using his superior depth and ball weight to repel Evans.
Albot, who also reached the semifinals of the doubles this week with Yoshihito Nishioka, showed his comfort to the net by taking any ball left by Evans, hitting hard for an approach and finishing the point on the forecourt. But everything changed to 2-1, 15/0 in the decision maker. The rain began to fall and the game was suspended for nearly an hour.
When the contestants returned to Delray Beach's field, Evans had a little more thrill. The shots that Albot managed to put aside before the delay suddenly became more zealous, and Evans had a 3-4 break by changing his pattern of play. For most of the match, the Brit sliced his backhand, but Evans touched his backhand at one hand during an approach shot, forcing an imprecise mistake on Albot 's part. From there, it was Evans who put pressure on the Moldovan, reaching 15.30 on Albot 's service in the next two 29 – year – old athlete' s service matches.
Evans seemed destined to complete his comeback when he took a 6/4 lead in the playoff game in the final. But Evans made mistakes on all three occasions, including a volley from a few feet inside the baseline, to 7/6, which sailed just inches. Uncertain of the quality of the match, Evans committed a double foul when he scored his first point, allowing Albot to lift the trophy.
"He made a good end [on his third match point]. I have to give him credit. It's easy to say that I did not take the points of the match, but I thought he played very well in times when he needed to play well, "Evans said. I fell 2-4 and I look at the cannon to be honest. I did well and it was not enough. "
"It was not in the plan, I have to say, lose the first set and then come back, but everything went well this week, when you lose a set, it's just half a minute." match, "said Albot. "If you want to win the match, you have to win two sets, I still had chances, I had chances and I used them."
Evans, who was trying to become the first qualifier to win the trophy at Delray Beach since Ernests Gulbis in 2013, and the first Briton to triumph in the 27-year history of the tournament, leaves with 150 points and $ 52,495 in prizes.
"He played good tennis at the end when he needed it, it's a bit unlucky to lose 7-6 in the third period with a good chance, obviously three match points." But I do not think I've done a lot of trouble, I missed two right, but not a lot. "
Did you know?
It was the first time Tommy Haas beat Xavier Malisse in 2006 in the decisive game of the Delray Beach Finals.
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