Monaco beats Di Mauro for first ATP title

Buenos Aires:

Argentine Juan Monaco won his first ATP title by trouncing Alessio Di Mauro of Italy 6-1, 6-2 on Sunday, delighting a capacity crowd at the Copa Telmex. The 22-year-old Monaco, a fifth-year pro whose only other final appearance came at Casablanca in 2005, finished off the victory in 63 minutes. "This is a title nobody can take away from me. It cost me so much to win this championship," Monaco told a crowd of more than 5,000 at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club. "This is the fulfillment of a dream." Final blow Monaco won his first two service games at love and broke Di Mauro to lead 3-0, capitalizing on unforced errors by the Italian who was playing in his first ATP final. Another break put Monaco ahead 5-1 and he completed the first set in 25 minutes. Monaco broke Di Mauro to open the second set and the Italian, showing the first signs of distress in the mid-afternoon heat, left the court to receive medical attention. The Italian complained of cramps in the right calf and took a five-minute delay. He trotted back onto the court and play after that was more even. However, Di Mauro returned to his unforced errors and Monaco broke again for a 5-2 lead, and then clinched the match on serve. After victory, Monaco rushed up to the stands to salute his family.

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