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ATP: Gasquet, Garcia-Lopez, Estrella-Burgos Win Titles

By Josh Sanchez

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ATP: Gasquet, Garcia-Lopez, Estrella-Burgos Claim Titles

There may be a let down in the excitement the week after a Grand Slam, but for the players that grind it out on the ATP Tour, all of the wins are important. Three tournaments were held this week in the cities of Montpellier, Quito, and Zagreb. Being only 250-level events, the tournaments did not draw all of the best players. Feliciano Lopez and Gilles Simon were the only top-20 players in action. Still, a title means just as much and the points earned can help position players for success in the larger tournaments.

Quito

Ranked No.14 in the world and coming off a strong showing in Melbourne, Lopez was a heavy favorite coming into this tournament. After dispatching good friend Fernando Verdasco in the semifinal, Lopez would faced No.73 ranked Estrella-Burgos from the Dominican Republic. It was a forgone conclusion that Lopez would come away with this first clay court title of the year. Estrella-Burgos had different plans.

a title means just as much and the points earned can help position players for success in the larger tournaments.

After becoming the first player from the Dominican Repoublic to be ranked inside the top 100, Estrella-Burgos added the first title of his career on Sunday, beating the heavily favored Lopez, 6-2 6-7 7-6. The win vaults Estrella Burgos up to No.52 in the world rankings and will make other players take notice when the clay court season rolls around.

Zagreb

Two of the hottest players on the ATP Tour clashed in the finals on the indoor hard courts of Zagreb. Andreas Seppi, who knocked out Roger Federer at the Australian Open, faced off against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. Garcia-Lopez would come out triumphant, 7-6 6-3. For the world No.33, it was his fourth tour title.

“You don’t win a tournament every week,” said an emotional Garcia-Lopez following the match. “This is only my fourth title during my whole career so of course it was an emotional moment.”

The win pushes Garcia-Lopez up to No.27 in the ATP Rankings that will come out on Monday. The final showing for Seppi bumps him to No.35, ever closer to that coveted top-32 that gets the protected seeds in the Grand Slams.

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Montpellier

France has plenty of top players in the ATP Rankings and their names usually dominate the field in Montpellier. This year veteran frenchman Richard Gasquet would duel Jerzy Janowicz in an intriguing final.

The intrigue was short lived when Janowicz has to retired due to illness only three games into the match. After a great week of tennis that saw him save multiple match points, Janoqicz was disappointed that he was unable to compete. “I’m extremely disappointed because I felt pretty OK the whole week,” said Janowicz. “I saved six match points in the first round and after that I played pretty good tennis.”

Gasquet was ready for a tough match, but was still pleased to lift the trophy. “I knew he was sick when we were warming up. I saw very quickly at the beginning of the match that he couldn’t play at all,” said Gasquet. “Anything can happen, so even though I knew he was sick, I stayed focused.” Gasquet moves up to No.24 in the world with the championship in Montpellier.

Next Up

Attention now turns to the first 500-level ATP event of the year in Rotterdam. Many top players are in the field headlined by Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Tomas Berdych, and Milos Raonic. Lopez, Fabio Fognini, and Tommy Robredo will stick to the clay courts of South America for the tournament in Soa Paulo, while Kei Nishikori, Kevin Anderson, and John Isner will battle in Memphis.

Next: 'Big Four' Take Different Approaches to Scheduling

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