Carreno Busta Wins First Title At Home In Marbella
Pablo Carreno Busta won his first ATP Tour title at home on Sunday, defeating fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 to claim the AnyTech365 Andalucia Open trophy in Marbella.
The top seed clinched his 200th tour-level victory by defeating the 23-year-old in the championship match. Carreno Busta needed to summon all of his experience to triumph after two hours and 21 minutes.
“I suffered like yesterday trying to continue fighting all the time… I needed to do it if I wanted to win this kind of match,” Carreno Busta said. “It’s a pleasure to win a title here in Spain, in Marbella. For me, it’s very special. It’s my fifth title, so I’m very, very happy for the victory.”
Former World No. 1 Bjorn Borg, whose son Leo Borg competed in qualifying at this event, was on court for the trophy ceremony. The Swedish legend had plenty of praise for both players.
“We saw a great final today with two great players and great tennis,” Borg said. “I think everybody agrees with me on that.”
“It’s an honour to have Bjorn and also Manolo Santana here,” Carreno Busta said. “It’s very special to us to play in front of these legends and it’s always a pleasure to hear these words from them.”
The level reached its peak towards the end of the match, with both men hitting sensational shots under an incredible amount of pressure. From magical drop shots to jaw-dropping half-volleys, they certainly showed their racquet skills on the Spanish clay.
“I started really good, really focussed, being very aggressive,” Carreno Busta said. “After that I missed a little bit and Jaume started to play better and at the end.”
Now a five-time ATP Tour titlist, Carreno Busta was relentless in his pursuit of the win. At 4-4 in the decider, Munar fought hard to avoid losing serve. But on his seventh break point of the game, the favourite finally made good on his opportunity, blasting a backhand return up the line from deep in the court to force an error from his younger adversary.
Carreno Busta earned 17 break points in the match. Although he was unable to convert just four of them, it was enough to claim his first title since Chengdu in 2019. He earned 250 FedEx ATP Rankings points.
Next Gen ATP Finals alumnus Munar put forth a tremendous effort in his maiden ATP Tour final. The World No. 95 scratched and clawed no matter what Carreno Busta threw at him, but it was not enough to earn his first crown at this level. The World No. 15 was just a bit better on the day.
Munar, who captured 150 points, was comfortable in Marbella, where he is now 12-3 on the ATP Tour and ATP Challenger Tour combined. He reached Challenger finals at this venue in 2020 and 2021 before his impressive run this week.
Did You Know?
This was the first all-Spanish final on the ATP Tour since 11 February 2018, when Roberto Carballes Baena defeated Albert Ramos-Vinolas in Quito.