BUENOS AIRES, February 18, 2019

An Italian has claimed the singles title in Buenos Aires for the first time since 1965, as Marco Cecchinato is the champion of the Argentina Open. The 26-year-old Palermo native eased past local favourite Diego Schwartzman 6-1, 6-2 in Sunday’s final at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club.

Cecchinato was in control of the encounter, didn’t face a break point, capitalizing on four of his own nine chances to prevail after 65 minutes.

A force to be reckoned with!

💪

Marco Cecchinato soars past Diego Schwartzman 6-1 6-2 to claim the 🏆 at @ArgentinaOpen pic.twitter.com/lMqlkSeTcs

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) 17. Februar 2019

“I was able to play a great match and was always focused. I followed the game plan from the beginning to the end,” said Cecchinato. “I was able to win the first two matches [this week] the hard way, working point by point. I improved my level yesterday and I was focused today, so I’m happy with how I was able to win the tournament.”

Cecchinato, who was 0-3 in Argentina Open main-draw matches before this week, collects $101,830 in prize money as well as 250 ATP-Ranking points. The World No. 18 improves to 3-0 in ATP Tour singles finals following his triumphs in 2018 Umag and Budapest.

Gonzalez/Zeballos win doubles title

The all-Argentine combination of Maximo Gonzalez and Horacio Zeballos needed just 49 minutes to capture their first ATP Tour team title, cruising past Diego Schwartzman and Dominic Thiem 6-1, 6-1 later in the day.

“Sharing the court with [Horacio] is good because we know each other a lot,” said Gonzalez. “It’s great to get a win at home, after losing the final [in Cordoba] last week… A win at home with all our people, family and friends, is very nice and special.”

Zeballos added: “It is a huge pleasure to be here with the champions trophy. I’m really happy to enjoy a week with so many friends.”