QUITO, February 8, 2016

Victor Estrella Burgos, who captured his first ATP World Tour title at the age of 34 last year, successfully defended his Ecuador Open Quito crown with a final win against Thomaz Bellucci on Sunday.

Victor Estrella Burgos (photo: Ecuador Open Quito)

Fifth seed Estrella Burgos improved to 10-0 in Quito and 2-0 over the the tournament’s number three from Brazil, winning 4-6, 7-6, 6-2. Bellucci did not face a break point in the first two sets, but saw his opponent break twice on seven occasions in the deciding set. The world number 56 from the Dominican Republic withstood nine aces, hitting eight of his own to seal victory in two hours and two minutes.

“I can’t describe the feeling when I saw the last ball go out. It was an unbelievable moment, to win back-to-back in Quito. Last year I was very nervous. I could barely breathe serving on match point. This year I was much more relaxed closing out the match. The conditions were difficult. It was sunny and so windy. It was impossible to return [Bellucci’s] serve in the first set,” Estrella Burgos told afterwards, taking away $82,450 in prize money as well as 250 ATP ranking points. He and Stan Wawrinka are the only players over 30 to defend their titles in 2016.

“It was a difficult day. The wind did not allow me to maintain a good level. I was dominating and I had options to win the match, but I wasted them. In the third set, I lost my rhythm on serve and he raised his level. I’m happy to have reached the final, but sad because I could have won,” a dissapointed Bellucci said.

On Saturday, Spaniard Pablo Carreno-Busta and Argentine Guillermo Duran celebrated their first ATP doubles title, winning 7-5, 6-4 over the all-Brazilian-combination of Thomasz Bellucci and Marcelo Demoliner. The match last one hour and 16 minutes.

Doubles champions in Quito: Pablo Carreno-Busta and Guillermo Duran