By Chris Oddo | Saturday March 4 2017
Pablo Cuevas defeated Pablo Carreno Busta in two tight sets to reach the Sao Paulo final on Saturday.
Brasili Open
Pablo Cuevas moved within a match if the first three-peat in Brasil Open history by defeating Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta on Saturday, 6-3, 7-6(2).
Uruguay’s top player will bid for his sixth career title in the final against Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain. The No.2-seeded Ramos-Vinolas saved a match point to take out Portugal’s Joao Sousa, 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-2.
Sousa served for the match with a 5-4 lead in set two and held a match point after rallying from 0-40 down. But Ramos-Vinolas saved the match point and went on to claim nine of the final 11 games to reach his fourth career final.
Cuevas improved to 3-1 against Carreno Busta, breaking serve four times on ten opportunities and winning 16 of 23 second-serve return points. The Uruguayan also hit nine aces and won 31 of his 38 first-serve points.
Cuevas owns a 4-1 lifetime edge over Ramos-Vinolas, including 2-1 on clay. He defeated the Spaniard in both of their 2016 meetings, at Buenos Aires and Barcelona.