By Chris Oddo | Sunday, February 15th, 2015
Pablo Cuevas escaped Sao Paulo with his third career title, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4), over first-time finalist Luca Vanni.
Photo Source: Brasil Open
Pablo Cuevas kept his perfect record in finals alive while simultaneously killing the dream run of his ambitious foe. Cuevas’s 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4) Brasil Open victory over Italian qualifier Luca Vanni marks the Uruguayan’s third career title in three finals.
It was also the 29-year-old’s third title in the last eight months, and Cuevas becomes the first man from his country to win the title in Sao Paulo.
The Uruguayan played a flawless first set from the service stripe, winning all of his 20 points—five love holds—to take the opener on the strength of one break.
But an inspired second set by Vanni saw the Italian rain down eight aces and save both break points he faced to force a decider.
The 29-year-old qualifier, who had celebrated his first career ATP victory earlier in the week, kept the momentum on his side. He built a 5-4 lead in the third set, and took the balls to serve for the match.
But the occasion proved to be too big for Vanni. He was broken easily, and while he rebounded in his next service game to force a final-set tiebreaker, it was the more experienced Cuevas who took the early lead and made it stand up for the title.
Cuevas is projected to a career-high ranking in the top 25 for his efforts, while Vanni will rise to a ranking just outside the top 100.
Notes, Numbers, Tweets
Vanni has a 263-150 record in the futures with 16 titles, seven of which came in 2014.