Radu Albot becomes first Moldovan to lift ATP tour title

Radu Albot created history at the Delray Beach Open, becoming the first Moldovan to win an ATP tour title.

Albot, who had never reached a tour-level final before this tournament, defeated Daniel Evans 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(7) late on Sunday night.

The 29-year-old saved three championship points to win the final against Daniel Evans of the UK.

"It feels unbelievable. You work so much. You work your whole life, your whole career, and at the end, you win a tournament. This is just a great feeling. I think it is difficult to put into words," Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) quoted Albot, as saying.

The Moldovan star had to wait for 56 minutes as the match was halted by rain and slowed down Albot's momentum.

With his win, Albot has gained 250 ATP ranking points. The last player who won the first ATP tour trophy for his country was Stefanos Tsitsipas.

"It was not in the plan, I have to say, losing the first set and then coming back. But it worked out pretty good this week. When you lose a set, it's just half a match, if you want to win the match you need to win two sets. I still had chances, I got chances and I used them," he said.