The Argentine Tomás Martín Etcheverry was the big winner of a day of tennis marathon at the Jockey Club Brasileiro, with semifinals and finals of the Rio Open played throughout this Sunday (22).
The title, the first of his career in , came with a victory by 2 sets to 1, partial scores of 4/5, 7/6 (7/3) and 6/4, over Chilean Alejandro Tabilo, in a game lasting more than three hours.
Gaming marathon
The semis, which were to be played on Saturday, were moved to Sunday because of the heavy rain that hit Rio and prevented the matches from being played. In games between late morning and early afternoon, Etcheverry got past Croatian Vit Kopriva, and Tabilo eliminated , in the round of 16 in the capital of Rio de Janeiro.
In the semi and final, the Argentine played more than seven hours in one day. The first lasted 3 hours and 57 minutes, while the big decision took 3 hours and 4 minutes to finish.
A final
In the final, Tabilo started the first set allowing Etcheverry to break his serve, but recovered quickly by returning the break in the second game and repeated the same two games later, opening 3/0. From then on, without further breaks, he maintained his advantage and endured a difficult ninth game to confirm the last serve of the set and close at 6/3.
The second set was much more competitive, in which the Argentine achieved the first break, in the third game, and the Chilean returned it in the sixth. The most tense moment of the match was in the fifth game, in which Etcheverry struggled to confirm the serve, but managed it. Ultimately, he ended up winning the set in the tiebreak, 7/3 to close the partial at 6/7.
The third set, with both tennis players already very worn out, was superior to Etcheverry, who managed the only break of the partial in the third and the game held the advantage until the end.
