Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov edged out South Africa’s Kevin Anderson 7-6 3-6 7-6 in a three-hour slugfest to claim his second career title with victory in the Acapulco International final yesterday.

The 22-year-old claimed the first set in a tiebreak but Anderson broke in the second game of the next and comfortably held serve to level the match at one set apiece.

Anderson carried the momentum into the third with another early break but handed back the initiative with a double fault on break point in the eighth game of the deciding set.

Dimitrov, who beat Wimbledon champion Andy Murray in the semi-finals, held on to take the decider into a tiebreak and completed the victory on his first match point to improve his head-to-head record against the South African to 4-1.

“Belief! That was the only thing that kept me going. I didn’t think I was gonna come back after last night’s match,” Dimitrov told reporters, referring to his semi-final win that finished after 2:30am on Saturday.

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