Online Reporter
Gael Monfils became the oldest man in nearly five decades to win an ATP Tour-level title with his 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Zizou Bergs on Saturday at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand.
Ken Rosewall, an Australian great, was 43 when he won the Hong Kong trophy in 1977. Monfils, who won his 13th tour title, is 38.
But against Bergs, Monfils seemed ageless, winning 88 percent of points on his first serve and saving six break chances in the 97-minute contest. Bergs, a 25-year-old Belgian, converted only 71 percent of his first serves into points.
Monfils and Bergs now move on to the Australian Open. Monfils drew fellow Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard as his first-round opponent, while Bergs will face Facundo Diaz Acosta of Argentina.
No. 5 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada won his sixth career title with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 defeat of No. 2 seed Sebastian Korda in Australia.
Auger-Aliassime used 10 aces in his win over Korda, who made his first tournament appearance since undergoing elbow surgery last October. In the final set, the Canadian won 93 percent (13 of 14) points on his first serve to close out the one-hour, 49-minute match. He won 17 of the final 21 points to win the first set.
Auger-Aliassime moved to 3-1 in his career against Korda. His next opponent will be Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany in the first round of the Australian Open on Monday. Auger-Aliassime is the No. 29 seed in the major.
Korda, seeded No. 22, will play Lukas Klein of Slovenia in the opener in Melbourne.
Meanwhile, Madison Keys overcame a left thigh injury to record a 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 win over top-seeded Jessica Pegula in an all-American final on Saturday at the Adelaide International in Australia.
Keys captured her second Adelaide title in four years and ninth career WTA Tour championship after firing 10 aces and 36 winners to dispatch Pegula in one hour, 43 minutes.
The 29-year-old Keys hopes to ride this momentum into the Australian Open, where she will face Ann Li tomorrow in the first round.
Pegula will look to rebound on Monday when she faces Australian Maya Joint in the first round in Melbourne.
Unseeded McCartney Kessler captured her second career WTA Tour title with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 victory over No. 2 seed Elise Mertens of Belgium in Australia.
Kessler, who claimed her maiden title in Cleveland in August, fired three aces to defeat Mertens in two hours, eight minutes.
Kessler will look to continue her strong play in an Australian Open first-round match against China’s Shuai Zhang.
Mertens will face Swiss qualifier Viktorija Golubic in the first round. — Reuters.
