After more than a decade without a singles crown,
Vince Spadea finally made the breakthrough on Sunday.
The fourth-seeded American beat seventh seed Nicolas Kiefer of Germany 7-5 6-7
(5/7) 6-3 to claim his first career ATP title at the Franklin Templeton Tennis
Classic.
"I'm quite excited," Spadea said after needing 223 tournaments to get his
maiden win. "I'm 29-years-old, I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks."
Spadea was runner-up in his two prior finals, most recently at Indianapolis in
1999.
Additionally, the world number 29 had the dubious distinction of currently
being the highest ranked player to never have captured a crown.
But Spadea ended the 11-year drought to cap a memorable week in the desert
that included a 6-7 (5/7) 4-6 6-3 victory over reigning US Open champion Andy
Roddick in the semi-finals.
Kiefer was playing in his second final in three weeks, but was denied his
seventh career crown.
Runner-up in Memphis two weeks ago, he has won seven career crowns, but none
since Hong Kong in 2000, before a string of injuries hampered his success.
After splitting sets in the bright, humid conditions, Spadea got the decisive
service break in the eighth game.
He raced in to take Kiefer's drop shot and rifled a cross-court backhand blast
to take a 5-3 lead.
Spadea, who squandered a chance to serve out the match in the second set, did
not falter in his second opportunity.
Serving it out at love, he raised his arms in celebration when Kiefer dumped a
weak forehand into the net to conclude the 2-hour, 44-minute match.
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