By Chris Oddo | Sunday, April 13, 2014
Fernando Verdasco won his first title since 2010, taking out Nicolas Almagro in the Houston final in straight sets.
Photo Source: Pat Sullivan/ AP
After six consecutive losses in finals, Fernando Verdasco overcame nerves and one of the game's most lethal clay-courters to win the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston.
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Verdasco's 6-3, 7-6(4) victory over Nicolas Almagro puts the 30-year-old southpaw from Madrid into the ATP's winner's circle for the first time in nearly four years. Since his victory over Robin Soderling in the 2010 Barcelona final, Verdasco had dropped title matches in Nice, San Jose, Estoril, Gstaad, Acapulco and Bastad, five of which were on clay.
"It’s been a long time since I’ve won a singles title,” Verdasco said after the match. “It’s a very important day for me to win a tournament after a few years and after the injury in my knee the last couple years."
Verdasco was the more relaxed player from the start, and he he hit on 82 percent of his first serves in the first set to make things difficult for Almagro. After falling behind early, Almagro started to play his way into the match, but Verdasco saved the only break point he faced to take the opener 6-3.
Each player had chances in the second set, with both Almagro and Verdasco saving five of six break points, but it was Verdasco who won the big points, as he fought back from 1-4, 0-30 down, and would eventually save five set points at 4-5 to bring things to a tiebreaker.
"I’ve been happy the way I’ve been feeling the whole week,” he said. “In general, I think I had ups and downs, but it’s normal. In tough matches on clay you are not always 100 per cent every point physically, and you just need to try to be tough mentally.”
Verdasco becomes the second Spaniard—and the second over-30 player—to win a title this week. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez took the Casablanca earlier in the day.
Almagro, who also finished runner-up to John Isner last year in Houston, falls to a 12-9 finals mark with his fourth straight loss in a title match.