In his third Newport final, Ivo Karlovic won his first title at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships on Sunday. The 6’11” Croat erased three championship points and came back from a set down against Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller to win 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 7-6(12) in two hours and 56 minutes.

The 37-year-old Karlovic takes home his seventh career ATP World Tour title and also becomes the oldest winner in the tournament’s 40-year history. Fabrice Santoro, 35, won the 2008 title. Karlovic, at 37 years, 4 months, also becomes the oldest ATP World Tour singles champion since Marty Riessen (37 years, 9 months) in 1979 (Lafayette, La.).

“After all these years when I was losing in the final and now I was finally able to do it,” Karlovic said. “And I was down a match point. That makes it even nicer.”

The big-serving Croat, who was playing in his third consecutive Newport final, took the title with titanic serving. He blasted 27 aces and won almost 90 per cent of his first-serve points (71/80).

But both he and Muller began the match battling nerves. Karlovic, who had been broken once in Newport heading into the final (36/37), lost his first service game at 15 to give Muller the early break. The 6’4” left-hander then held to lead 3-0. But Karlovic broke back and like that, the two were headed to a predictable first-set tie-break.

“In the beginning… I didn’t really feel my serve. I was a little bit doubtful,” said Karlovic, who double faulted six times in his first three service games. “But I just tried to hang in there and tried to get to a tie-break any way I could.”

Muller dominated to the first set tie-break, though, and in the second set tie-break, he was a swing away from gaining a match point. At 5/5, Karlovic tossed up a lob and Muller had a play on it but let it sail over him. The ball bounced in, and Karlovic evened the match on the next point.

Neither player saw a break point again in the third set, and the match between two of the best grass-court servers headed into a final set tie-break. Muller saw the first match point at 6/5 but Karlovic erased it. Muller would then erase four match points but at 12/12, he tapped a volley long to give Karlovic his fifth match point and the first on his racquet. The 26-point tie-break was the longest in a decisive set in an ATP World Tour final in the Open Era.

“His serve is unbelievable. I was trying to return anyway I could,” Karlovic said. “It was difficult. I was really happy that I was able to do it.”

The win gives Karlovic his first title of the season. The Zagreb native struggled with a left knee injury earlier in the year. He also improves to 7-8 in ATP World Tour finals. Karlovic will bring home 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points and $91,630.

“I’m really happy that I was able to do it this year,” he said of his first Newport title.

Muller was going for his first career ATP World Tour title. The 33 year old has reached five finals, including two this season also (‘s-Hertogenbosch, l. to Mahut). Before this year, his last final was in Atlanta in 2012. The Luxembourg native collects 150 Emirates ATP Rankings points and $48,260.

Canadian teenagers Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger Aliassime have been making headlines for their results in junior Grand Slams and the ATP Challenger Tour, but another talented young Canadian could soon be doing the same.

Benjamin Sigouin, currently ranked No. 12 in the ITF Junior Rankings, competed in his first ATP Challenger Tour main draw this week at the $75,000 event in Winnipeg, Canada. Although the 17 year old lost in the first round to American Mitchell Krueger, he saw the experience as invaluable.

“You can’t compare it to the juniors. All these guys are at a really high level. There’s no easy match,” said Siguoin. “I’ve hit with a good bunch of them. It’s nice to see some different balls than the juniors.”

Although Siguoin is in the beginning stages of embarking on a pro career, he’s been training like one for years. Based out of the National Training Centre in Montreal, his days consist of twice-daily sessions of tennis and school work, in addition to a fitness session at the end of the day.

The schedule is comparable to what Shapovalov and Auger Aliassime currently undergo. Although the trio all focused on their individual careers, they’ve formed close friendships with each other and motivate one another to succeed on and off the court.

“We’re all really good competitors. We’re really good friends, but we push each other for sure,” said Siguoin. “Every big result they do makes me more motivated and I’m sure vice-versa.”

Although Siguoin said his pro experience will primarily consist of Futures events for now, he’ll also mix them in with ATP Challenger Tour events and the world’s biggest junior tournaments as he aims to be No. 1 in the ITF Junior Rankings by next year. The Canadian has already developed a taste for the big time, as evidenced by winning a match 13-11 in the deciding set during a boys’ singles match this year at Roland Garros, where he reached the quarter-finals.

“There are only three tournaments a year where you can play that long,” said Siguoin. “It was really special being my first main draw at a Grand Slam and to do that in the third-round against a good player was fun.”

Albert Ramos-Vinolas played largely nerve-free tennis on Sunday to capture his first ATP World Tour singles title at the SkiStar Swedish Open over fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.

Third seed Ramos-Vinolas became the fourth first-time ATP World Tour titlist of the year by beating fifth seed Verdasco 6-3, 6-4 in 86 minutes. Verdasco, who had a three-match winning streak against Ramos-Vinolas, also finished runner-up in the 2013 Bastad final (l. to Berlocq).

Ramos-Vinolas earned €82,450 in prize money and 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points after the fourth all-Spanish Bastad final in the Open Era – also 1975 (Orantes d. Higueras), 2007 and 2012 (David Ferrer d. Nicolas Almagro). Former World No. 1 Bjorn Borg, the 1974 and 1978-79 Bastad champion, presented Ramos-Vinolas with the trophy.

Ramos-Vinolas got off to a strong start in his second final (2012 Casablanca), taking a 4-1 lead courtesy of service breaks in the third and fifth games. But the confidence of the World No. 35 was momentarily checked when he was broken to 15 by Verdasco in the sixth game. However, he broke for a third time to seal the 36-minute opener.

Ramos-Vinolas saved three break points in two service games of the second set prior to breaking Verdasco for a 5-3 lead. Ramos-Vinolas came within two points of winning, but blinked and gave Verdasco the opportunity to break to 30. But one game later, he joined Nick Kyrgios (Marseille), Diego Schwartzman (Istanbul) and Steve Johnson (Nottingham) as a first-time titlist in 2016. He improved to a 24-19 record on the season (18-12 on clay).

Verdasco, 32, had been attempting to lift his eighth tour-level crown and his second of 2016, following on from the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy (d. Pouille) in April. He leaves with €43,430 and 150 points.

CZECH REPUBLIC 1, FRANCE 2

Venue: Werk Arena, Trinec, CZE (hard – indoor)

Wimbledon champions and World No. 1 duo Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut gave France a 2-1 lead in Trinec as they edged Lukas Rosol and Radek Stepanek 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in just over three hours. The 25-year-old Herbert was making his Davis Cup debut, one week after he and Mahut captured their second Grand Slam championship title at the All England Club. 

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will have the chance to clinch the tie for France when he faces Jiri Vesely on Sunday in the first of the reverse singles. Nine-time champion France is bidding to win the Davis Cup crown for the first time since 2001. Two years ago, they were beaten by Switzerland in the final.

SERBIA 1, GREAT BRITAIN 2

Venue: Tasmajdan Stadium, Belgrade, SRB (clay – outdoor)

After rain brought a premature end to Friday’s proceedings, with Great Britain leading 1-0 after Kyle Edmund’s win over Janko Tipsarevic, the defending champion ended Saturday with a 2-1 advantage over Serbia in Belgrade.

Dusan Lajovic levelled for the host, beating James Ward 6-1, 6-3, 6-2, but Great Britain hit back in the doubles rubber. Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot united for a 6-1, 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4 victory over Filip Krajinovic and Nenad Zimonjic. It was Inglot’s first Davis Cup victory for Great Britain, who won the ITF men’s team trophy last year for the first time since 1936.

#NextGen star Edmund will have the opportunity to seal victory for the Brits when he faces Lajovic on Sunday. 

ITALY 1, ARGENTINA 2

Venue: Circolo Tennis Baratoff, Pesaro, ITA (clay – outdoor)

After Fabio Fognini produced a near flawless display to beat Juan Monaco 6-1, 6-1, 7-5 and bring Italy level at 1-1 earlier in the day, it was Argentina that ended the day in charge after Guido Pella and Juan Martin del Potro battled to a 6-1, 7-6(4), 3-6, 3-6, 6-4 victory in the doubles over Fognini and Paolo Lorenzi.

“It was very difficult to deal with the noise at times,” said del Potro, who was representing Argentina for the first time since the 2012 semi-finals against Czech Republic. “At the beginning we played very well but then our opponents went up a level.”

U.S.A. 2, CROATIA 1

Venue: Tualatin Hills Tennis Center, Portland, USA (hard – outdoor)

Going into Saturday, the U.S. looked to have the quarter-final contest nearly clinched. They had a 2-0 lead and Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, the winningest doubles team in U.S. Davis Cup history, set to face Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig. But Cilic/Dodig pulled off the upset 6-2, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 to keep Croatia’s hopes alive in the U.S.

The Bryans are now 24-5 in Davis Cup doubles matches. The U.S. still may hold a historical advantage, though. The country is 38-2 when leading 2-1 after Saturday in World Group format, which was introduced in 1981.