Anderson, Dodig claim maiden ATP titles

 

Originally published on: 07/02/11 09:19

After all the fun in the sun at the first Grand Slam of the year in Melbourne, this weekend on the ATP Tour proved a busy one, with three ATP 250 titles decided on Sunday, two of which went to first-time winners.

Kevin Anderson and Ivan Dodig both captured their maiden titles on home turf, with Dodig beating eighth seed Michael Berrer in straight sets in Zagreb, and Anderson recovering from a set down to beat India’s Somdev Devvarman in three sets at the SA Tennis Open in Johannesburg.

“It’s a great honour being mentioned with the Wayne Ferreiras of South African tennis,” said 24-year-old Anderson after his triumph. “Hopefully I can keep going and keep getting better.”

Dodig was equally jubilant after winning a title in front of his home crowd. “This is the best thing that can happen to a player – to play at home in front of your own crowd and win your first title,” said the 26-year-old, who beat fellow Croat and No.2 seed Ivan Ljubicic en route to the title. “It’s been an amazing week – it’s an unbelievable experience.”

Meanwhile, tour veteran Tommy Robredo captured his 10th ATP title in Santiago after beating Santiago Giraldo of Colombia. “Ten is a very nice number and it feels good to lift the trophy again,” said the Spaniard after getting hold of his first title since his back-to-back triumphs at Costa do Sauipe and Buenos Aires in 2009.

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