Ilya Ivashka defeated Mikael Ymer 6-0, 6-2 on Saturday in the Winston-Salem Open to become the first player from Belarus to win an ATP Tour singles title in 18 years.
Ranked 63rd in the world, the 27-year-old Ivashka is the lowest-ranked champion in the event’s 10-year history, and the sixth player this season ranked outside the top 50 to win an ATP Tour title.
Max Mirnyi was the last Belarusian winner — in 2003 at Rotterdam
Ivashka lost only one set in six tournament matches, with that one coming in the second round. He beat top-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta in the quarterfinals.
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Ivashka held serve throughout the final while breaking Ymer three times.
The 22-year-old Ymer, ranked 90th, was the first player from Sweden to reach an ATP Tour singles final since 2011.
A hard-court tournament is a tune-up event for the U.S. Open, the year’s last Grand Slam tournament that starts Monday in New York.
2nd-seeded Kontaveit beats Begu in Cleveland final
Second-seeded Anett Kontaveit of Estonia won the Tennis in the Land final Saturday for her second WTA Tour title, beating Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania 7-6 (5), 6-4.
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The 30th-ranked Kontaveit entered the tournament on a four-match losing streak, then won five matches in six days in the inaugural WTA 250 event.
“It’s been a rough year, so I was really enjoying myself,” Kontaveit said. “Of course, it’s special to get a title as it’s been a while, but the main thing for me was gaining more confidence on the court. The welcome we received was so warm, it felt like home here.”
Kontaveit didn’t double-fault until the final game and completed the 115-minute contest with a forehand down the left sideline. She also won in 2017 in the Netherlands.
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No. 74 Begu fell behind 5-2 in the opening set before succeeding on her fifth breakpoint, then held serve to force the tiebreaker. She missed a drop-shot and made an unforced error, in order, to lose her first set at the tournament.
“Anett, you played amazing and you deserved to win,” Begu said. “It’s been an amazing week for me, celebrating my (31st) birthday and having so many Romanians here cheering. This has been a wonderful experience.”
Begu advanced to her first final since winning in Bucharest in her homeland in 2017. She was seeking her fifth WTA Tour title.
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“It was a really, really, really, really close match,” Kontaveit said. “Putting pressure on yourself is not necessary, so I went point by point, trying to stay as calm as I could. I’m very happy with the way I pushed myself and pushed through.”
In the doubles final, top-seeded Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara of Japan beat Christina McHale of the United States and Sania Mirza of India 7-5, 6-3.
Aoyama and Shibahara won for the fifth time this year and eighth overall.
“American crowds have such a big voice, I thank you for that,” said Aoyama, who has 17 career doubles title. “And thank you Ena for playing with me.”
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