Welcome to Take Five, a weekly series on USTA.com recapping five of the biggest stories from American tennis over the last week on the professional tennis circuit. Frances Tiafoe won his second ATP Tour title in Houston on Sunday, while Peyton Stearns reached her first WTA final in Bogota. Danielle Collins and Desirae Krawcyzk claimed the Charleston doubles title, and Casey Ratzlaff and Andrew Bogdanov won titles at the ITF wheelchair event in Indian Wells.
After reaching the Wimbledon semifinals last season, Danielle Collins and Desirae Krawczyk claimed their first WTA title in their third tournament as a team. The Americans won the Charleston Open, a WTA 500 in South Carolina, by winning match tiebreaks in each of thier four victories.
The trophy is Collins' first WTA doubles crown and Krawczyk's eighth.
The champions saved the most dramatic match for last: a comeback 0-6, 6-4, [14-12] win against top seeds Giuliana Olmos and Ena Shibahara in which they saved two championship points.
“There was some really difficult moments, and I think when our opponents were playing so well… we had to try to counter that as much as we could,” Collins said post-match. “But I think because of our camaraderie and being able to rely on each other, it gave both of us a lot of confidence knowing we would hang in there.”
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
The Americans also knocked out second seeds Kristina Mladenovic and Zhang Shuai in the quarterfinals.
Five years after winning his maiden ATP title in Delray Beach, Frances Tiafoe is once again a champion on home soil, this time on the red clay of Houston. The American did not lose a set in his title run at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship.
The 25-year-old clinched the trophy with a 7-6(1), 7-6(8) triumph against eigth seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry on Sunday, a result that lifted him onto the brink of the Top 10 at a new career high of world No. 11.
Peyton Stearns graduated to professional tennis after winning the 2022 NCAA singles title last May, and the American's breakout year continued last week in Bogota.
Playing in her fifth WTA main draw, the former Texas Longhorn followed up two dominant wins with a pair of three-set victories to reach the final, capped with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over fourth seed Kamilla Rakhimova in the semis.
While she was turned back by defending champion Tatjana Maria of Germany in the final, Stearns' run lifted her into the WTA's Top 100 for the first time.
Read more on Stearns' Bogota run
Casey Ratzlaff reached the men's singles finals at the ITF 3 series wheelchair event in Indian Wells and also claimed the doubles title with Australia's Ben Weekes. In women's action, Michelle Wilson reached the singles semis.
Andrew Bogdanov made it two American champions on the week by winning the Quad singles title, beating Mexico's Jose Arriago 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the final. Bryan Barten and Matthew Fritzie also made deep singles runs in Indian Wells, advancing to the semifinals.
Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, Collins, Caty McNally and Sofia Kenin are headed to Delray Beach to represent Team USA in a Billie Jean King Cup Qualifier against Austria, with the 18-year-old Gauff set to play in her hometown this weekend.
"Representing the U.S. is always an honor," Gauff said when the tie's location was announced in February. "Playing in my hometown, I'm not going to take that for granted. It definitely puts an extra bit of pressure when you're representing your country, especially in your hometown, but I'm ready to come up to the challenge. I'm just so excited for this opportunity."
The two-day tie will be played from April 14-15 at the Delray Beach Tennis Center.
Click here to purchase Billie Jean King Cup Qualifier tickets on Ticketmaster
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