HAMBURG, Germany -- Nikoloz Basilashvili became the first Georgian to win an ATP World Tour title with a 6-4, 0-6, 7-5 win over defending champion Leonardo Mayer of Argentina on Sunday at the German Championships.
The 26-year-old qualifier recovered from a disastrous second set to win in his first final.
Mayer had reached the German Championships final for the third time in five years after saving a match point on Saturday against Slovak qualifier Jozek Kovalik.
Basilashvili secured a decisive break in the third game en route to taking the opening set before his 31-year-old opponent responded by winning the second in just 30 minutes.
After the pair shared the opening 10 games of the decider, the 81st-ranked Basilashvili broke again before successfully serving for the championship.
“I literally gave in every match my heart,” Basilashvili told atpworldtour.com. “I’m pretty sure every player worked so hard for this, but it’s an unbelievable moment for me.”
Mayer’s only two ATP titles came on the same Hamburg clay in 2014 and 2017.
