AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Third seed Jakub Mensik fired 18 aces to beat Sebastien Baez 6-3, 7-6 (7) in the final of the ATP 250 tournament in Auckland on Saturday.
The 20-year-old Czech, ranked No. 18, saved three set points in the second-set tiebreaker to win his second ATP Tour title.
He will now head to the Australian Open where he will face Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta in the first round. Baez, who defeated top-seeded American Ben Shelton in the quarter-finals in Auckland, will face Giovanni Mpehi Pericard in the first round in Melbourne.
Mensik easily won the first set with 11 aces in 31 minutes, and won the second set 6-5. But Baez broke serve for the first time in the match and led 6-3 in the tie-break, with Mensik scoring three points in a row.
Mencic earned his second match point with his 18th ace, then took the final point off Baez’s serve to seal the match.
“I would say it’s a great start to the year,” Mensik said. “Obviously, after the preparation and preseason I’m very happy. Seb is a great fighter. It’s difficult to hit the winning shot against him.”
