Fognini, Johnson among weekend title winners

Five tour events were completed over the weekend – four on European clay, and one on grass in the US. Here’s a wrap of who won and what happened where.

Fognini wins on clay again

AP – Italy’s Fabio Fognini has won his second ATP title this year, beating Richard Gasquet 6-3 3-6 6-1 in the Swedish Open final in Bastad.

The third-seeded Italian clinched his seventh title overall, all of them on outdoor clay.

Frenchman Gasquet was also going for his second ATP title of 2018.

Fognini won the Brazil Open in March, and Gasquet won on grass at s-Hertogenbosch last month, the Frenchman’s 15th title.

Forza Fabio! ????????????

Italy’s @fabiofogna holds his nerve to beat Richard Gasquet 6-3 3-6 6-1 and take the Bastad title ????#SwedishOpen pic.twitter.com/mW9VJVm4XS

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) July 22, 2018

Fognini won five straight games in the opening set after conceding the first break of the match. Three straight double-faults let Fognini down in the second set as Gasquet went on to force the decider.

Fognini won with his fourth championship point as Gasquet’s forehand went long.

Johnson great on grass

REUTERS – Steve Johnson beat Ramkumar Ramanathan on Sunday to win the Newport ATP title in Rhode Island, United States.

Johnson, who triumphed on clay in Houston earlier this year, relied on his big serve to win 83 percent of first-serve points and wrap up the final in the only US-based grass-court ATP event in just under two hours.

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With the win, Johnson brought an end to Ramkumar’s bid to become the first player from India to win an ATP singles title since mentor Leander Paes prevailed in Newport 20 years ago.

Ramkumar, ranked No.161 with a big serve as well as an appetite for attacking the net, made an impressive run to the finals in an upset-filled tournament that saw only two seeded players reach the quarterfinals.

But defeating Johnson, who did not drop more than three games in a set en route to the final, proved too big a challenge for the Chennai native.

Congratulations on a great tournament @SJohnson_89!#DellTechOpen pic.twitter.com/KPDYAqEw3t

— Tennis Hall of Fame (@TennisHalloFame) July 22, 2018

The match was played three hours earlier than originally scheduled due to a possible storm in the area.

Cornet triumphs in Gstaad

AP – Top-seeded Alize Cornet of France won her sixth career title by beating Mandy Minella of Luxembourg 6-4 7-6(6) in the Ladies’ Championship Gstaad final on Sunday.

Minella, playing in her first final on tour at age 32, was seeking to become the third mother to win a WTA singles title in the past year.

The 48th-ranked Cornet did not drop a set all week in the Swiss Alps clay-court event to win her first title since January 2016 when she won at the Hobart International.

Winner of 2018 Ladies Championship Gstaad @alizecornet with the trophy and her brand new #HYSEK watch.

#LCG #thegirlsarebackinthealps #WTAGstaad pic.twitter.com/WSj4Nrx1SA

— Ladies Open Gstaad (@WTA_Gstaad) July 22, 2018

Cornet won five of the 20 break points she held against the 226th-ranked Minella.

The 28-year-old Frenchwoman clinched the first set with a drop-shot winner, and saved two set points in the second-set tiebreaker.

Sevastova makes amends in Romania

AP – Two years after being thrashed by Simona Halep in the Bucharest Open final, top-seeded Anastasija Sevastova returned to win the title in straight sets on Sunday.

Sevastova prevailed 7-6 (4) 6-2 on clay over fourth-seeded Petra Martic of Croatia, who was playing in her second career WTA final, six years after losing her first.

Sevastova had 30 winners and 28 unforced errors as she won her third singles title.

Anastasija Sevastova wins the 2018 @BRDOpen!

The No. 1 seed beats Petra Martic 7-6(4), 6-2! pic.twitter.com/W1472ELuPR

— WTA (@WTA) July 22, 2018

“I played one of my best matches here,” the Latvian said.

Sevastova failed to win a single game in the 2016 final against Halep. She advanced to Sunday’s final when her semifinal opponent Polona Hercog retired hurt after Sevastova had won the first set.

Cecchinato’s rise continues

AP – Third-seeded Marco Cecchinato further elevated his breakthrough year by winning the Croatia Open final on Sunday, beating Guido Pella of Argentina 6-2 7-6(4) in their first meeting.

The 25-year-old Italian recovered from 4-2 down in the second set on the outdoor red clay surface to take the match in a tiebreak.

Cecchinato won his first ATP Tour title in April in Budapest, as a lucky loser, then knocked out Novak Djokovic en route to the French Open semifinals. He was the first Italian male Grand Slam semifinalist in 40 years.

Cecchinato was at a career-high ranking of 27th, and will rise to No.22 on Monday.

The unseeded Pella was playing in his first career final.

Umag CHAMPION ????

Italy's Marco Cecchinato wins his 2nd ATP title of 2018 with a 6-2 7-6(4) win over Guido Pella.#atpumag pic.twitter.com/u4IExPVBXS

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) July 22, 2018