Rosol wallops Garcia-Lopez for Bucharest title

Lukas Rosol made a name for himself by trouncing Rafael Nadal in the second round of Wimbledon last year. The Czech proved he was worth more than a sensational upset by handing Guillermo Garcia-Lopez a clay court lesson to clinch his maiden career title at the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy in Bucharest. The 48^th ranked pro from Brno notched an easy 6-3, 6-2 victory in just 67 minutes to capture the title on his debut as a finalist.

Rosol continued from where he left it against Gilles Simon in the semis, with another consummate performance in the finals. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Czech, who faltered to a break at love in his first game as an ATP Tour finalist. But Rosol recovered his wits immediately to break back in the next game and prevent any damage.

Rosol proved that his nerves were settled when he made the move in the critical eighth game to break Garcia-Lopez after saving a couple of game points for a 5-3 lead. The Czech packed the first set into his bag, taking his first set point after 37 minutes on the court.

The Spaniard courted trouble very early in the second set, when he trailed 15-40 in the first game. Garcia-Lopez saved both the break points, but could not prevent a third break point which Rosol lapped up to gain the upper hand.

The Czech took control of the set in the third game, when Garcia-Lopez fell to 0-40 in the third game. The first couple of chances went begging, but Rosol converted at the third time of asking to take a commanding 3-0 lead. Time was running out quickly for the 87^th ranked Spaniard, as he was left trailing 0-4 when Rosol consolidated a double break.

Garcia-Lopez held serve twice after that, but it was Rosol who was serving for the match at 5-2. The Czech had two match points at 40-15 and even though the first was turned down, Rosol took the second to clinch his maiden tour title at the age of 27.

“It could not be better this week,” said Rosol. “I came here from a full two weeks of practice. I didn’t know what to expect of myself. So I’m pretty satisfied with this result.” He added, “I will remember this week. It was very emotional for me and is something special. I found a way to beat some good players and succeed.”

In clinching the title at Bucharest, Rosol joined Bernard Tomic and Horacio Zeballos as first time winners this season. Tomic had taken his first title at Sydney, while Zeballos embellished his career with a fine victory over Nadal at Vina del Mar in Chile.