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San Diego (US), Sep. 26 (IANS): Brandon Nakashima, the 21-year-old home-grown tennis player, completed a dream week by defeating third seed Marcos Giron 6-4, 6-4 in an all-American final to win the San Diego Open -- his maiden ATP Tour title.
Turning out in his third ATP Tour final, and his first of this year, the San Diego native won the ATP 250 event to move up 21 places to a career-high No. 48 in the ATP Live Rankings.
"It feels like a dream out here," Nakashima was quoted as saying by atptour.com. "My first ATP title in my hometown. To be able to capture my first title here, it's unbelievable. Amazing atmosphere out here tonight, and I just really want to say thank you for coming out and showing your support."
While there was little to separate the two players in the rallies, Nakashima's serve made the difference.
"No matter the score out here today, I always knew there were going to be some tough moments," said Nakashima, who has memories of practicing with "great friend" Giron in his junior days.
"I knew it wasn't going to come easy. I had to battle for every game. At the beginning of the second set, a couple of tight games. I lost my serve, but I think I regrouped pretty well in the next game. Happy to close it out on my serve," he added.