Australian Nick Kyrgios capped a scintillating run in Acapulco with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over world No. 3 Alexander Zverev Saturday to claim his first ATP title in more than a year. In women's action China's Wang Yafan rallied from a set and a break down to capture her first WTA title, defeating American Sofia Kenin 2-6, 6-3, 7-5. World No. 65 Wang, playing in her first WTA singles final, outlasted the 35th-ranked American to claim her breakthrough title after two hours and 10 minutes. Kyrgios defeated three top-10 players on the way to the title, saving three match points in a second-round victory over second-ranked Rafael Nadal — owner of 17 Grand Slam titles — and beating No. 9 John Isner in the semis. He also beat three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka in the quarterfinals of a drama-filled week that saw him shake off hostile crowds, illness, injuries and moments of malaise — not to mention a post-match scolding from Nadal. His win over Zverev was a remarkably straightforward affair. "I just chucked in a lot of drop shots, tried to keep him guessing, that's all you can do," said Kyrgios, a former world No. 13 who has slipped to 72nd in the world. "He's super-fit, so he's going to grind you down so I tried to keep the points short when I could," added Kyrgios, who spent more than nine hours on court over his four prior matches but needed just an hour and a half to dispatch Zverev. "You know, I lack on the physical side a little bit," Kyrgios admitted with a smile. "But today I served well and just played the clutch points pretty well." Indeed it was Zverev whose nerves were frayed after Kyrgios broke him at love in the fourth game of the opening set then held for a 4-1 lead, prompting the German to smash his racket in frustration. Kyrgios broke again to open the second set, but double-faulted on break point in the next game. He broke Zverev again in the fifth game and held with confidence the rest of the way to capture his first title since Brisbane in January of 2018. While Kyrgios had come to embrace the role of tournament villain in which pro-Nadal fans had cast him, Zverev said fans should appreciate what they had seen from him. "Really, he's the one who deserves to win it," Zverev said. "He's the real champion this week," and the fans, finally won over, cheered. Garin and Pella will fight for maiden tour title win The Brasil Open tennis tournament will see a new winner Sunday after Christian Garin and Guido Pella, neither of whom has a tour title to his name, won their semifinals to set up a showdown in Sao Paulo. Chilean Garin beat Norway's Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 and then Pella overcame in-form Serbian Laslo Djere 7-6(10) 7-6(1) Saturday. — Agencies
