Pablo Cuevas picked the most unorthodox way to win an unconventional final on Monday at the Brasil Open in Sao Paulo. About to deliver a second serve on his fourth match point, the Uruguayan dipped down and tapped an underhand serve to Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who rushed to the service box and successfully returned the surprise tactic. But Cuevas eventually won the point and made tournament history in Sao Paulo with his 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4 win. The 31 year old became the first player since the tournament began in 2001 to win three consecutive Brasil Open titles. Spaniard Nicolas Almagro has won the tournament three times but only two of his titles were successive. “I was making a lot of...
Second seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas and third seed Pablo Cuevas will complete their rain-delayed Brasil Open final on Monday, with play scheduled to resume at 12:00pm local time in Sao Paulo. The heavens opened as Ramos-Vinolas led the two-time defending champion 7-6(3), 3-3. Both players traded service holds throughout the opening set, but the Spaniard ran away with the tie-break as Cuevas’ steady baseline game betrayed him. The Uruguayan hit four consecutive errors to give Ramos-Vinolas a 6/2 lead and a forehand error from Cuevas on set point gave the Spaniard a commanding advantage. Perhaps aided by a brief rain delay just one point into the second set, the defending champion regrouped by racing to a 3-1 lead, but Ramos-Vinolas fought...
For the first time in six years, an all-Brazilian team has claimed the doubles title at the Brasil Open. Rogerio Dutra Silva and Andre Sa lifted the trophy on home soil in Sao Paulo, defeating Marcus Daniell and Marcelo Demoliner 7-6(5), 5-7, 10-7. "Every title is special, but to do it on home soil is another level," said Sa. "It was a great atmosphere this week. I had my friends and family here, so it was really special. Rogerio is from Sao Paulo, so it was very special for him as well. We're just really happy." Teaming for the first time this week, Dutra Silva and Sa became the first all-Brazilian tandem to prevail at the tournament since Marcelo Melo...
In a field featuring five of the world’s Top 10 players, Sam Querrey is the last man standing at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel. The American completed his dream week in Acapulco with a stunning 6-3, 7-6(3) upset over second seed Rafael Nadal in Saturday’s final. "It's definitely a tournament that I'm going to remember for the rest of my life," said Querrey. "It's just one of those weeks where I got in the zone and everything was working for me. I hope I can have more like this." Querrey is the first American champion in the tournament’s 24-year history. He scored his first win over the Spaniard, improving his FedEx Head2Head record against Nadal to 1-4. The victory also breaks...
Top seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares picked up their first ATP World Tour doubles title of 2017 on Saturday at Abierto Mexicano Telcel, racing to a 6-3, 6-3 victory over John Isner and Feliciano Lopez in Acapulco. Murray/Soares maintained control from the beginning, not facing a break point in the opening set and capturing the lone break to grab the early advantage. The second set was nearly identical, with the top seeds breaking Isner/Lopez at 4-3 and comfortably serving out the match to prevail in 62 minutes. “We did well to win the first match this week (against Cilic/Mektic) because we were down for most of the Match Tie-break. But that’s what often happens in doubles. You squeeze through...
