DELRAY BEACH, Florida — Sam Querrey beat Rajeev Ram 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) Sunday in an all-American final in the Delray Beach Open for his eighth ATP World Tour title and first since 2012.
Querrey rebounded from a break down in each set and 0-3, 2-5 and 5-6 in the tiebreaker before closing out Ram with a running forehand down-the-line pass that clipped the baseline. Ram challenged the call, but the replay showed it caught the outside of the line.
Querrey, who was down a break in six of the 10 sets he won throughout the week, knocked out former US Open champ Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina in the semifinals.
“It was kind of nervous, ugly tennis all week,” said Querrey, who also reached the semifinals in Memphis last week. “But sometimes it feels better to win when you don’t play your best.”
Querrey earned $86,950. He will also move back into the world’s top 45 from a current No. 61. The 28-year-old Californian was ranked as high of No. 17 in January 2011. This was only the second time in the 24-year history of the tournament that two unseeded players met in the final. The last time was 2013.
Austria’s Oliver Marach and France’s Fabrice Martin denied Bob and Mike Bryan their fifth Delray Beach doubles title by upsetting the top seeds 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 13-11.
Cuevas outlasts Pella for title
In Rio de Janeiro, Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas, coming off an upset of Rafael Nadal, won his fourth career ATP title Sunday, defeating Argentina’s Guido Pella 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4 in the Rio Open final.
Cuevas smashed a forehand winner on the final point, the only break point either player managed in the last two sets, to claim the crown after two hours and 16 minutes at the clay court event.
The final was interrupted by rain in the opening set and completed in the early morning hours of Monday.
The $303,000 top prize was the biggest single payday of Cuevas’ career, coming after his semifinal shocker over Nadal.
Left-hander Pella, ranked 71st, took home a runner-up prize of $142,450, the biggest payday of his career. In the WTA singles final, former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone, who turns 36 in June, won her first title since 2013, defeating Shelby Rogers of the United States 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the final.
Schiavone is the third Italian winner on the WTA Tour this year after Roberta Vinci in St Petersburg last week and Sara Errani in Dubai Saturday. — Agencies
