Fritz cruises past Purcell to win Eastbourne International

Taylor Fritz, the top seed, beat Australian qualifier Max Purcell 6-4, 6-3 to win the Eastbourne Open final at the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club.

The American put on a typically strong serving display, with Purcell failing to generate any break point opportunities against his opponent’s serve.

For Fritz, a single break in each set was enough to seal his eighth title and his third on grass.

All of those previous grass-court triumphs have come at Eastbourne, with the American winning in 2019 and 2022.

Purcell enjoyed an impressive run to the final on the south coast this week, reaching his first ATP-level fina. But Fritz is too assured on this surface and knows the Eastbourne courts well. The American had too much quality on the day as he comfortably sealed his second title of the season.

Earlier in the tournament, Fritz, ranked No 13, defeated Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild (7-6 (4), 6-3), Chinese qualifier Juncheng Shang (7-6 (5), 7-6 (5)) and Australian lucky loser Aleksandar Vukic (7-6 (5), 7-6 (4)).

Purcell, ranked No 94, beat Serb Laslo Djere (6-1, 4-6, 6-3), Italian Lorenzo Sonego (6-4, 6-4), Serb Miomir Kecmanovic (6-3, 7-6 (4)) and wildcard Billy Harris (6-4, 4-6, 6-4) in the previous rounds of the Eastbourne tournament.