Ivashka wins Winston-Salem Open, first tour title

Tennis

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Ilya Ivashka beat Mikael Ymer 6-0, 6-2 on Saturday in the Winston-Salem Open to become the first player from Belarus to win an ATP Tour singles title in 18 years.

Ranked 63rd in the world, the 27-year-old Ivashka is the lowest-ranked champion in the event’s 10-year history, and the sixth player this season ranked outside the top 50 to win an ATP Tour title.

Max Mirnyi was the last Belarusian winner — in 2003 at Rotterdam

Ivashka lost only one set in six tournament matches, with that one coming in the second round. He beat top-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta in the quarterfinals.

Ivashka held serve throughout the final while breaking Ymer three times.

The 22-year-old Ymer, ranked 90th, was the first player from Sweden to reach an ATP Tour singles final since 2011.

The hard-court tournament is a tune-up event for the US Open, the year’s last Grand Slam tournament that starts Monday in New York.

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