Tiafoe Saves Championship Point, Reigns In Stuttgart

Frances Tiafoe overcame Jan-Lennard Struff in a thrilling final at the BOSS OPEN on Sunday to lift his third tour-level title. The American saved one championship point to defeat the 33-year-old German 4-6, 7-6(1), 7-6(8).

In a heavy-hitting encounter at the ATP 250 event, Tiafoe and Struff exchanged blows for two hours and 12 minutes. Struff struck 56 winners to 36 from Tiafoe and saved all three break points he faced. However he fell agonisingly short of a maiden tour-level crown, with Tiafoe sealing victory in a dramatic third-set tie-break with a stretched volley winner.

“That tie-break was wild. It was back and forth, crazy point at 6/5. It was neck and neck,” Tiafoe said. “He served so well, I wasn’t able to break for three sets but I stayed with and I could not be happier with my effort.

“I have now won a title on all three surfaces. It shows I am a complete player and when I am locked in I can compete on all three surfaces.”

The third seed, who saved the championship point at 6/7 in the third-set tie-break, will break into the Top 10 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time on Monday following his 27th win of the season.

With countryman Taylor Fritz No. 8, it will be the first time two Americans have been in the Top 10 since May 2012, when Mardy Fish and John Isner were No. 9 and No. 10, respectively.

The 25-year-old Tiafoe has now earned three tour-level trophies, having also triumphed in Houston earlier this year. It is the first time he has won a title on grass.

Struff, up three spots to No. 21 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, now holds a 0-3 record in tour-level finals. The 33-year-old advanced to the championship match in Munich in 2021 and Madrid in May.