After the tournament in Columbus (losing in the final), it was on to the heavily snow-covered Cleveland. And again the draw was such that he had to play the tournament’s No. 2 in the first round. The former world No. 18, Italian Andreas Seppi ATP 100 was Dominic’s opponent (see match summary below). Dominic was quickly down 1:3, but then the turnaround. What a strong start to the tournament 6:4, 6:4. What a super success for a first round. In the second round, the young US player Emilio Nava was on the other side. And what a tough fight from two up-and-coming talents. Dominic lost the first set 3:6, but then came into the match better and turned it around after about 2.5 hours with 6:3 / 6:4 in his favour. In the 1/4 final Dominic played against the next American Ernesto Escobedo ATP 135 (best ranking No. 67). Against this strong serving opponent, it was difficult to score points on his service. But Dominic kept his nerve and won the decisive break in the first set 6:3. The second set went into a tie-break. And this went 7:4 for Dominic. Michael Mmoh (best ranking No. 96) was the next American in the 1/2 final, a very unpleasant and emotional opponent. It was a bending and breaking match on both sides. Both fought for a place in the final and it was almost impossible to watch. Dominic quickly fell behind by 2 breaks, 1:5, and shortly afterwards lost the first set 3:6. But Dominic won the second set 6:3 and the third 6:6 tie-break. 1:2 with a mini break back. What came next was simply brilliant! Dominic scored all the points and won the decisive tie-break 7:2. Dominic defended no less than 13 of 16 break points against himself in this match, what strong nerves.
Like a week ago again in the final and again against the same Japanese Nishioka Yoshihito ATP 108 (best ranking 2020 No. 48) (see match summary below). But now it was a completely different match than a week ago. Dominic with a completely different tactic. Much more relaxed and playing fantastically. It was a mystery to Nishioka why the young Swiss was so different from a week ago. Dominic won a few break points. But Nishioka, with his precision, kept scoring the decisive points. But then at 6:5 it worked. With an ultra-long rally, Dominic was able to realise the important break and thus win the first set 7:5. Now all the dams were definitely broken and Dominic made almost no more mistakes. He played convincingly, served superbly and made the game difficult for Nishioka. Dominic’s good, variable game was no match for the Japanese player. With a clear 6:1 Dominic deservedly won the match and was able to receive his second trophy at this level shortly afterwards. This match and the whole tournament showed Dominic the best tennis to enjoy. See also the match summaries.
What a great two weeks for Dominic in Ohio/USA. Final and victory. Moreover, almost only victories against top players of the world.