Flavio Cobolli claims third ATP Tour title with Mexican Open crown

In the championship match, world No. 20 Cobolli prevailed 7-6(4), 6-4 against world No 28 Tiafoe in a hard-fought contest lasting two hours and 10 minutes.

Cobolli's triumph saw him lift his third ATP Tour title and second at ATP 500 level after he won the Hamburg Open in May last year. It is the 23-year-old Italian's first hard-court title after both of his previous titles came on clay.

In his post-match interview, Cobolli said: "When I was a kid, I was dreaming for this moment.

"For this kind of tournament, playing on the centre court with people cheering for me.

"I'm very proud, not only for me, but also for the people that work for me - my dad, my family, the rest of my team. They will help me a lot.

"I think I deserve it for how I work outside the court. After the losses, I work again on court and I just want to say that I'm very proud of myself.

"It was a great match today, I think it was the best of the tournament for me. I never won against [Frances] before today, so I'm very happy."

Cobolli secured $461,835 in prize money for winning the Mexican Open, while Tiafoe left with $248,480 for his runner-up result. He also collected 500 ATP ranking points, which has lifted him five places to a projected new career-high ranking of 15th in the Live ATP Rankings.

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