Kevin Anderson completed the perfect preparation for the US Open by beating France's Pierre-Hugues Herbert to claim the Winston-Salem Open title.
Anderson had lost his previous seven ATP World Tour finals but the big-serving South African was too good for Herbert, winning 6-4 7-5.
It means a first triumph in 2015 for the world number 15, who fell at the final hurdle at both Memphis and Queen's earlier this year.
"I've been in a few finals and come up short, which is always tough," Anderson told atpworldtour.com.
"Each final is a different situation, and for some reason it just hadn't happened for me. Someone has to win and someone has to lose.
"Maybe it's a bit of an added pressure to be the favourite coming into the final, but (Herbert) has been playing great to get here.
"In my mind we were completely even before the match."
Despite defeat in the final, it was a breakthrough tournament for Herbert, who qualified to make the main draw before beating seeds Marcos Baghdatis and Steve Johnson.
"I came here to play some matches, but I didn't expect to play that much," said Herbert.
"I'm really happy since it's the best result of my career. There are no regrets because I think I played a good final, but Anderson was better and more experienced today."
There is little time to celebrate for Anderson, who plays Russian 17-year-old Andrey Rubley at Flushing Meadows on Tuesday. He could meet British number one Andy Murray in the last 16.
Herbert meanwhile has even less time to recuperate as he opens up on Monday against Spain's number 23 seed Roberto Batista Agut.
Source: PA
