Unseeded Frances Tiafoe won the all-US final at the grass tournament in Halle on Sunday, easily beating fifth seed Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4.
Fritz defeated home hope and recent French Open champion Alexander Zverev in Saturday's semi-finals, when the German's diabetes played up.
But Fritz's hopes of a first title of the year were denied by Tiafoe, who wrapped up his fourth career ATP singles title in one hour seven minutes in western Germany.
“I’ve lost a lot of (ATP) 500 finals. I’ve lost a lot of finals in my career,” Tiafoe said. “This is big. I just want to say one of my favourite scriptures: The pain that you’re feeling does not compare to the joy that is coming. Obviously, that has been proven very true.
“A couple of weeks ago, I had one of the toughest losses of my career at the French Open, and to come back and have a good week in Stuttgart and win here for my biggest title, beating the players I did, it’s a huge testimony to that quote. It’s something I’ve been living by.”
The 28-year-old is dangerous on grass, having previously won in Stuttgart in 2023. Tiafoe will be an awkward opponent for the big names at Wimbledon, which starts a week on Monday.
