Gaston Gaudio won his second tournament inside a week when he beat fellow Argentine Mariano Puerta in the $380,000 Buenos Aires Open final on Sunday. The event takes place on clay rather than the green stuff, which perfectly suited the two Argentinian finalists, French Open champion Gaston Gaudio and his wild card compatriot Mariano Puerta. Puerta had already put out the number one seed in the draw, Carlos Moya, in Friday's quarterfinals, so was unlikely to be a pushover, despite 116 places dividing the pair in the 2005 Champions' Race. Opening exchangesAnd so it proved, although the 26 year-old underdog failed to really threaten the Gaudio serve in the opening exchanges. Gaudio broke serve himself in the fifth game and went on to close out the opening set 6-4. However, the second set was more evenly balanced. Puerta served a nine month ban for a doping offence last year, but showed all the signs that he has put that part of his life behind him with a spirited display, and as an overcritical Buenos Aires crowd began to heckle the favourite, Puerta grew in stature. Crucial momentBut at the crucial moment, a series of unforced errors in the ninth game allowed Gaudio to break once more, and a solid service game wrapped up his second tournament victory in a week, following his victory at Vina del Mar in Chile last weekend. As the 6-4, 6-4 result was announced, Gaudio sank to the clay in celebration, eventually getting to his feet and shaking the hand of a gallant oppponent, extending a career run of five wins out of six over Puerta in the process. "It's unbelievable, two tournaments in a row. I'm playing such good tennis, I'm happy about it," Gaudio said.Gaudio subsequently lifted the trophy, collected the fifth ATP title of his career and pocketed his share of the $ 380,000 prize money. He is already 12 and 2 for the 2005 season and is on the verge of breaking into the world's top ten. (AP)
Gaudio wins Buenos Aires Open
Advertisement