Tennys Sandgren's domination of the ASB Classic is complete after thumping Briton Cameron Norrie in a one-sided final in Auckland.
The man with the most apt name in the sport won 6-4 6-2 to clinch a maiden ATP title on Saturday, hinting he's ready for another strong assault on the Australian Open.
Sandgren rose to prominence for on and off-court reasons in Melbourne 12 months ago.
As well as a giant-killing run to the quarter-finals, the Tennessee native was forced into defence mode when questioned about his Twitter activity, where it was noted he followed a number of alt-right organisations and individuals.
Sandgren explained at the time he found some of the accounts "interesting" but that such beliefs were incompatible with his Christian faith. He later deleted his account.
Sandgren went on to enjoy a solid 2018, climbing to 63rd in the world after reaching a maiden final in Houston.
He went one better against the 93rd-ranked Norrie, using the impregnable serving game that had carried him to five straight-set wins this week.
Sandgren expressed disbelief at making a breakthrough which had taken longer than ideal in coming.
"A lot of work, a lot of training and a lot of sacrifice goes into even making the final. To get a win, I'm kind of speechless," he said.
"I'm just grateful to be able to play and compete. I've dealt with some injuries so playing well feels really good.
"It helps to serve well, it makes up for some of my other shortcomings."
Sandgren thanked his Australian coach Carsten Ball, who he linked with two weeks ago.
"It's going well so far," he said.
It was the first final appearance for Auckland-raised left-hander Norrie, who captured crowd support this week despite switching allegiance to Great Britain six years ago.
He was let down by unforced errors in the decider, meaning he never threatened what would have been a fourth successive win over Sandgren.
Sandgren will face 75th-ranked Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan in the first round of the Australian Open.
Norrie's debut in the main draw is against 50th-ranked American Taylor Fritz, the man he beat in the Auckland quarter-finals on Thursday.
