Pablo Cuevas win his 3rd career title after a 2 hours battle against a daunting Luca Vanni. The surprising Italian had the chance to serve for the match when he was leading 5-4 in the 3rd set after he broke Pablo in the 9th game. Unfortunately the world no.149 couldn’t finish off the match and he lost 4 consecutive points to give back the break. Eventually the 3rd set went to the tie-break that Cuevas won at 4. The final score was 6-4 3-6 7-6 (4). Match stats.
Cuevas: Â We were both nervous
Pablo commented “We were both very nervous. I think it was the first time I played a final as the favorite. I thought that I couldn’t lose when that happens, but the matches become more difficult. In front of me I had someone that was playing with a lot of confidence and with a great serve. I think we both failed at some moments: a double fault, a volley. There were many mistakes at the end and the winner was the one who fails less than the other. Â
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I’m having a great comeback. I dream it will be good, but it’s better than I thought. I’m happy and enjoying the moment. But I’m healthy and I want more. I think I can give more and I thought about it when I could not play.”
Vanni: I am so proud of myself
Ranked no.149, Luca had a super run in Sao Paulo to reach the final caoming straight from the qualifications. The Italian had a great attitude soon after the match “I’m so happy. It was a close match. I fought hard against Cuevas. Tomorrow he will be 28, maybe 27, in the rankings. I’m so proud of myself.
I was in the chair before I served for the match and was thinking we are 1-all in the first set. I didn’t want to think we were at 5-4 and I was serving for the championship. I started with a good serve and then he played solid and didn’t miss a ball. He put every ball inside the court. I took some risks, which can be good sometimes and sometimes not. But I have to be satisfied after this week.”
Cuevas will now head to Rio where he will play Almagro in the first round. He should be tired…
