MY ACCOUNT
Francisco Cerundolo claimed his first ATP title with a straight-sets victory over fellow Argentinian Sebastian Baez at the Swedish Open.
Cerundolo had lost his only previous final, again against a fellow countryman in the form of Diego Schwartzman at last year’s Argentina Open.
But he was not to be denied this time around on the clay in Bastad on Sunday.
The two players went into this tournament with just five places separating them in the ATP rankings, and they proved to evenly matched in the first set.
World number 34 Baez struck with a break in the opening game only for the 39-ranked Cerundolo to immediately hit back in kind.
Cerundolo saved six break points to hold for a 6-5 lead but then saw two set points go begging.
He dominated the subsequent tie-break, however, and maintained the momentum in the second, serving out a 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 win to love.
