SABADELL, October 1, 2017

Sergio Gutiérrez-Ferrol captured his third ITF Pro Circuit title of the season, winning Sunday’s final of the 25th edition of the $25,000 Open BBVA Ciutat de Sabadell. The 28-year-old from Spain defeated Canadian Steven Diez 6-3, 7-6.

In front of about 150 spectators and in pretty chilly conditions at the Tennis Club Sabadell, Gutiérrez-Ferrol set the tone early, gaining two breaks to clinch the opening set after only 35 minutes.

Diez found his rhythm in the second frame and fought back from another break down but in the end Gutiérrez-Ferrol proved too strong for the Canadian, winning 12 points more than his opponent. The World No. 503 converted his third match point after one hour and 35 minutes.

Diez With Positive Week

“He started the match pretty well, really strong, nothing to lose,” Diez told Tennis TourTalk after the final. “His ranking does not show his actual level. He stopped for years, quit tennis and then came back. He is a really good player, really dangerous with a big forehand and good serve. He played really good on clay and I knew that. He played an amazing level. I had my chances but I wasn’t able to take them today.”

The current World No. 341 appeared in his first final since finishing runner-up at the Moscow Challenger in September last year. This was also the time when Diez reached a personal career high ranking at World No. 162.

Runner-up in Sabadell: Steven Diez

“It hasn’t been a great year for me so far but this was a good week for me. I lost a lof of ranking this season but now I feel better every day. My ranking allowed me to play ATP tournaments and ATP Challengers but now I am back at Futures level to try to get my ranking back up.

“I do not have a particular goal in terms of ranking positions. What I needed the most was to play a couple of matches in one week. Hopefully this will help me in the future. The good thing about a crappy year is that I do not have to defend too many points next season,” Diez added with a smile.

The Toronto native felt like at home this week anyway. “I live 20 minutes from here by car. I was born in Canada but my parents are Spanish and they came back when I was six years old. I had played for Spain but then I switched to play for Canada.”

15th ITF Futures Title For Gutiérrez

Gutiérrez-Ferrol was happy to capture his 15 ITF Futures title, his third of the season following his triumphs in Caldas da Rainha in Portugal and Hammamet, Tunisia. The former World No. 172 stopped playing tennis in 2013 in order to start running races in the mountains. He has returned to the courts on a regular basis this year.

“It was a perfect week for me,” told Gutiérrez-Ferrol, who also lifted the trophy here in Sabadell back in 2010. “Conditions were great I enjoyed it here very much. My friends and family motivated me to come back to the courts. I am very pleased with my performance.”

Asked about his goals for next year, he replied: “Getting into the main draw at Wimbledon.”

He takes away $3,600 in prize money as well as 25 ATP ranking points.