Etcheverry Edges Tabilo for Maiden Title in Rio

By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, February 22, 2026
Photo credit: Mark Howard

Tomas Martin Etcheverry pulled off double duty to capture his maiden singles title in Rio.

Etcheverry converted his third championship point capping a 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 comeback win over Alejandro Tabilo in today’s grueling three hour-four minute Rio Open final.

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That marathon win came hours after Etcheverry completed a 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(4) semifinal win over Vit Kopriva on Rio’s red clay.

In the final, Etcheverry pumped 14 aces against four double faults and saved six of nine break points to beat Tabilo for the second time this month.

Etcheverry topped Tabilo 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the Buenos Aires quarterfinals earlier this month.

The eighth-seeded Etcheverry, who scored his 100th Tour-level win on Friday, kept the Rio trophy in Argentina’s hands for the third year in a row. Sebastian Baez won Rio in 2024 and 2025.

Etcheverry denied Tabilo’s quest to become the first Chilean man in Open Era history to win Tour-level titles on clay, grass and hard courts.

Richard Pagliaro is Tennis Now Managing Editor. He is a graduate of New York University and has covered pro tennis for more than 35 years. Richard was tennis columnist for Gannett Newspapers in NY, served as Managing Editor for TennisWeek.com and worked as a writer/editor for Tennis.com. He has been TennisNow.com managing editor since 2010.

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