Spain’s Guillermo Garcia Lopez battled past Czech rising star Jiri Vesely 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (13-11) after an exciting match until the final point to lift the Nastase Tiriac Trophy in Bucharest, a ATP 250 Tournament.
Garcia Lopez, who beat Gael Monfils in Saturday’s semifinal, has become the first Spanish player to win this tournament since Alberto Montanes in 2009.
Garcia Lopez broke serve in the second game of the opening set. In the fifth game Vesely brought up two break points which were saved by Garcia Lopez.
The match became more intense and was marked by some spectacular shots. Vesely rallied from 0-3 down with a break back in the seventh game. The following two games went on serve.
In the 11th game Vesely broke serve for 6-5 and served for the set. However, Garcia Lopez fought off two set points to force the set to the tie-break where he took the 7-5 edge after a series of mini-breaks.
Both players traded breaks in the second set which came down to the tie-break. Garcia Lopez broke serve in the third game but Vesely broke back in the next game. The set continued to be played on serve until the tie-break. Vesely earned two set points but Garcia Lopez saved them before clinching the win with 13-11 on his six match point after an exciting roller-coaster battle which lasted two hours and 14 minutes.
Garcia Lopez won his fifth career title and his second title this season two months after lifting the trophy in the Aagreb Indoor.
“It was complicated for me to close the match. I was feeling nervous. A lot of things crossed my mind but at the end I was happy to win. It is the first time in my career that I have won two titles in a year”, said Garcia Lopez.
