Second seed Alexandr Dolgopolov survived a three-hour rain interruption on Sunday to claim his second career tennis title with a three-set win over Germany’s Tommy Haas at the Washington Open.
Dolgopolov, ranked 25th in the world, denied the 34-year-old Haas a ninth career title in the US with his 6-7 (7-9) 6-4 6-1 victory.
“I didn’t know quite how to play him before I came out but it worked well and I’m happy I won,” said Dolgopolov, who hammered 11 aces.
“I needed to show my best game.
“I had to attack and make winners against Tommy. It was a tight match, especially in the opening set with the weather coming in.
“I had to play well in the important moments and ignore the conditions.”
Haas, the world No.36, was bidding for his second trophy this season after beating Roger Federer two months ago for the Halle title on grass.
The German was playing Washington for the seventh time. An agitated Haas complained bitterly in the third game of the final set about balls taking repeated dead bounces on a hardcourt which had surface patches where water had soaked through.
Dolgopolov needed two-and-a-quarter hours on court to secure his win in the tough conditions.
The Ukrainian had reached the final without losing a set before Haas won the first in a tiebreaker – a set which was interrupted as the German led 6-5.
The final was the fourth for Dolgopolov, who did not play the London Olympics due to a disagreement with his national federation.
Haas accepted defeat without mentioning the court conditions. The German was playing his second final in three weeks after losing last month to Juan Monaco in Hamburg.
“I’ve yet to win this tournament and there are not a lot of years left for me,” said veteran Haas, the former world No.2.
“I still hope that I will be back here next year to try for it again. It was really rough conditions, waiting out the rain and then playing against a tough opponent.”
In the men’s doubles, Treat Conrad Huey of the Philippines and Britain’s Dominic Inglot defeated Kevin Anderson of South Africa and American Sam Querrey 7-6 (9-7) 6-7 (7-9) 10-5 (championship tiebreaker).
