Daijiworld Media Network - Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro, Feb 23: Tomas Martin Etcheverry captured his maiden ATP Tour title after winning the Rio Open with a hard-fought 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 victory over Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo in the final in Brazil.

Rain had delayed his semi-final, forcing the 26-year-old Argentine to play two matches in a single day. Rising to the challenge, Etcheverry delivered a resilient performance to secure the biggest title of his career. It marked his first ATP crown after finishing runner-up in three previous finals.

During the tournament, Etcheverry also recorded his 100th tour-level match win. He had defeated Tabilo in Buenos Aires last week and repeated the win in Rio, extending his head-to-head lead to 2-0.

With the victory, Etcheverry climbed 18 places to World No. 33 and will return to the Top 40 for the first time since last February.

Earlier, in the men’s doubles final, Brazil’s Joao Fonseca and Felipe Melo defeated Germany’s Constantin Frantzen and Belgium’s Robin Haase 4-6, 6-3, 10-8. It was Fonseca’s first home title and Melo’s second successive trophy.