Harrison beats Basilashvili to win Memphis title

American Ryan Harrison captured his first ATP title Sunday, winning all 12 break points he faced to defeat Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-1, 6-4 and win the Memphis Open.

Harrison, ranked 62nd, will jump into the world top 50 for the first time since July 2012 by taking the matchup of unseeded 24-year-olds who had not dropped a set all week at the indoor hardcourt event.

The breakthrough victory came after Harrison had lost seven ATP semi-finals but downed compatriot Donald Young to reach the Memphis championship match.

Harrison blasted eight aces in downing Basilashvili, who will rise from a career-best 67th in the rankings despite a loss in his second career final.

Basilashvili, who made a semi-final run last week in Sofia, lost his only prior ATP final to Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi at last July’s Austrian Open.

Harrison saved two break points before holding in the opening game of the match, then broke the Georgian in the fourth and sixth games for a 5-1 lead and held at love to claim the first set in 26 minutes.

A crucial break on his third chance of the fifth game put Harrison ahead 3-2 in the second set.

Serving for the match in the final game, Harrison faced two more break points but saved them both, the first with his final ace of the match, then won his first match point to claim his first crown.

Basilashvili, who ousted top seed Ivo Karlovic in the second round, is entered in next week’s ATP event at Delray Beach, where Karlovic is the second seed and a possible quarter-final foe for Basilashvili.

TSONGA WINS

ROTTERDAM Jo-Wilfried Tsonga shrugged off the absence of his coach to defeat David Goffin 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 on Sunday and earn a first career title at the Rotterdam World Tennis tournament.

The French sixth seed, who lost the 2011 final to Robin Soderling, took just under two hours to beat Belgian third seed Goffin, playing his second final in as many weeks after losing in Sofia last Sunday to Grigor Dimitrov.

Tsonga earned his fourth victory over Goffin, who at least had the consolation of knowing he will be the first Belgian man to crack the world top 10 after his efforts in Rotterdam.

Tsonga, whose coach Thierry Ascione was not present for the final due to personal commitments, said he made many changes in his game for the indoor week.

“I changed my serve, I tried to work on my backhand and returns. I also changed strings. I changed a lot to try and improve my game.”

Former world number five Tsonga, 31, will move back to 11th in the rankings on Monday after claiming his first ATP 500 series title since Vienna in 2011 when he beat Juan Martin del Potro.