NEWPORT/STARNBERG, July 22, 2024
Marcos Giron has clinched his maiden title on the ATP Tour by winning the 2024 Infosys Hall of Fame Open in Newport, Rhode Island. The No. 2 seed of the only professional grass-court tournament outside of Europe emerged victorious from the all-US-American final, beating No. 3 seed Alex Michelsen 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-5 on Sunday.
After a first-round bye, Giron advanced to the championship match with wins over Frenchman Benoit Paire, Australian qualifier Alex Bolt and fourth favourite Christopher Eubanks from the United States.
The 30-year-old California native fired 13 aces and won 82 per cent of his first-service points, He needed to save one match point to prevail after two hours and 37 minutes.
Persistence pays off 👏
Three days before turning 31, @marcos_giron93 is an ATP Tour champion!#InfosysHallofFameOpen pic.twitter.com/pU5BTLxp6r
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) July 21, 2024
Giron, a two-time ATP Challenger Tour champion, earned $100,635 in prize money as well as 250 ATP Ranking points by winning the tournament with his first appearance in Newport.
“It’s a great town that people actually did come here. I know Stevie [Johnson], Sam [Querrey], they’d bring their family and they were competing, but it was also in a way a little bit of a vacation week,” Giron said, quoted by the ATP. “In a way it was very relaxing for them, and so I knew that it was going to be nice. But honestly, I didn’t have any expectations. And sometimes it’s better to have no expectations.”
The Hall of Fame Open will be revamped into a joint ATP Challenger and WTA 125 level event next summer, scheduled for the second week of Wimbledon.
“It’s too bad that it’s not going to be a tour-level event anymore. But I’m really excited and honoured that I’m able to make it to the finals of the last event, the last tour event here in the Hall of Fame,” Giron said.