Opelka wins first ATP Tour crown

UNIONDALE, N.Y. >> Reilly Opelka had climbed out of trouble all week, though this time his big serve alone couldn’t save him. Technology did first. Moments after an electronic review overturned what appeared to give his opponent a match point, Opelka pounded his 43rd ace to win his first ATP Tour title Sunday with a

6-1, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (7) victory over qualifier Brayden Schnur in the New York Open.

“I put myself in a good position throughout the whole match and third-set breaker could have went either way,” Opelka said. “That challenge honestly is probably the difference.”

A night after overcoming six match points to beat top-seeded John Isner in the semifinals, Opelka needed six of his own to finish off Schnur in the matchup for firsttime finalists.

The 6-foot-11 Opelka hit 43 aces for the second straight match, making him the first player to hit

40 or more in consecutive best-of-three set matches since the tour began tracking aces in 1991.

But as powerful as he was with his racket, the pivotal point of the match came when he simply held it up in the air to signify a challenge.

Thiem advances to semifinals at Argentina Open

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA >> Top-seeded defending champion Dominic Thiem of Austria advanced to the Argentina Open semifinals, beating Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Thiem will face fourthseeded home favorite Diego Schwartzman on Saturday. Schwartzman beat Spain’s Albert Ramos Vinolas 6-1, 7-5.

In the other quarterfinals, third-seeded Marco Cecchinato of Italy beat Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena 7-6 (3), 6-4, and Argentina’s Guido Pella topped Spaniard Jaume Munar 6-7 (3), 7-6 (9), 6-1.

Wawrinka loses his first final since comeback from knee injury

ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS >> Three-time major champion Stan Wawrinka’s rebuilt knee couldn’t quite carry him to the title in Rotterdam Sunday.

Wawrinka lost his first final since his comeback a year ago from left knee surgeries, succumbing 6-3,

1-6, 6-2 to Gael Monfils of France at the ABN AMRO World Tournament.

It was the Frenchman’s eighth career title.

“I tried a couple of times here. I lost the final in

2016,” Monfils told Dutch national broadcaster NOS courtside. He said it was special to win a tournament that his idol, Arthur Ashe, also won. Ashe won back-to-back titles in Rotterdam in 1975 and ‘76.

Unseeded Wawrinka reached the final by beating top-seeded Kei Nishikori in three sets Saturday.

But the Swiss finally ran out of steam in the final set as Monfils stepped up his game.

“In the third set I was a little bit more aggressive and I go a bit more for my shots, I served bigger and that helped me a lot,” Monfils said.

Wawrinka was going for his 17th career title.