BUCHAREST, April 25, 2016
The singles and doubles finals were pushed to Monday after persistent rain and showers washed out Sunday’s play at the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy. Fernando Verdasco has become the first champion to be crowned in Bucharest on a Monday.
The 32-year-old Spaniard, who appeared in his 20th ATP career final, his first since lifting the trophy in Houston 2014, beat Lucas Pouille 6-3, 6-2.
Verdasco sent down four aces, saved all five break points he faced and converted three of his own to capture his seventh career title after one hour and 13 minutes.
Fernando Verdasco (photo: BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy)
“I’m very happy because I won this trophy,” said Verdasco, who takes away €82,450 in prize money as well as 250 ATP ranking points. “It was a long time since I was in this position, to win a tournament or to play in a final.
“It’s not easy to wait a day to play. It wasn’t stressful, but hard. When it rains you have to be ready to play at every moment, especially if it is a final, not a first round. I wanted to play, no matter what. We did play, even if the last game was complicated when it started raining again. I’m glad that all ended there.”
“It was not easy to play my first final in these conditions,” said Pouille, who appeared in his first ATP World Tour final. “We had to wait for a long time. We didn’t know when we would play. However, it was the same conditions for both players and Fernando just played better than me today.
“I had some break points in the first set, it was close and very intense from the beginning. Then I started poorly the second set and Fernando played some really good tennis. He didn’t give me many points. Congratulations to him. As far as I am concerned, despite the loss, it was a positive week and I hope to keep on improving in the coming weeks.”
Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau (photo: BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy)
Earlier the day, locals Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau took the doubles title with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Chris Guccione and Andre Sa. The match lasted one hour and 12 minutes.
“It wasn’t an easy week for us, but we wanted to play together here. We are happy with the title. Now, we have more confidence in ourselves, in our game. It’s a first step towards our goal, which is a medal at the Olympics in Rio,” told Mergea.
“We’ve done everything to prepared each day to play, when the weather allowed it. We waited on Sunday, we played a set, and today we woke up early, like 6 a.m., to be here and see what happens This title is a dream for us. Something we thought of since we were children. We are happy and we thank our team and the people who came to support us all week, despite the rain,” Tecau added.
