Spanish qualifier
Nicolas Almagro won his career-first ATP title Sunday with a 6-2, 6-3 win over another first-time finalist, France's
Gilles Simon, in the final of the IV Open de Tenis Comunidad Valenciana.
"I played eight matches during this event, three in the qualifying and five in the main draw and started feeling a bit tired," Almagro told reporters. "This was a great week for me and my team. I think this win will open many doors for me."
Almagro improved to 10-4 this year with all his wins on clay, and beat slam winners and former No. 1s
Juan Carlos Ferrero and
Marat Safin.
In the doubles final Czechs David Skoch/
Tomas Zib ousted (4)
Lukas Dlouhy/Pavel Vizner 6-4, 6-3 for their first title of the year as a team.
"I never teamed-up with David Skoch before," Zib told reporters. "I was supposed to play with
Robin Vik, but he was sick and decided not to play, so I was lucky to find a new partner in David. We are pretty good friends and it's great to win the tournament, I didn't expect that at all. It's a nice surprise."
