Fabio Fognini and his fiancée, Flavia Pennetta, enjoyed an experience afforded only to a lucky few on Saturday evening in Rio de Janeiro as they climbed to the top of the Christ the Redeemer statue.

The Italian couple climbed 11 flights of stairs at the iconic statue to take a picture on the arm, just as the helicopter bearing John Isner, Jack Sock and Thomaz Bellucci flew past.

“I’m a little bit scared of heights, but this is something amazing and unique,” said Fognini. “Not many people get to have the opportunity to do this. I’m very thankful and happy.

“It’s a beautiful city, one of the best in the world. They are going to host the Olympic Games here and that is very big.”

Fognini defeated Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals of this ATP World Tour 500 clay-court tournament last year, before finishing runner-up to David Ferrer in the final.

“It was a great tournament for me when I beat Rafa for the first time,” said Fognini, who is seeded seventh this year. “I remember that the tournament had a great crowd. I hope I will play well here and do a good job.”

Fognini is set to open his campaign against Great Britain’s Aljaz Bedene.

It wouldn’t be a Martin Klizan match this week if the Slovak wasn’t fighting from behind to claim victory. The 26 year old captured the biggest title of his career as he rallied from a set down to defeat fifth seed Gael Monfils 6-7(1), 6-3, 6-1 on Sunday in the final of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament.

Klizan was christened the ‘Escape Artist’ after his dramatic run through to the final at this ATP World Tour 500 indoor hard-court tournament. The left-hander saved five match points to upset sixth seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarter-finals and fended off three match points in a hard-fought semi-final win over Nicolas Mahut. It was the most match points saved en route to an ATP World Tour title, since 2001.

“I cannot believe that it happened,” said Klizan. “It was my dream to be on the board with these unbelievably great players. It’s an amazing feeling. Every day I was just fighting. Most of the time I had three-hour matches every day, so the only thing I could do was fight. In the end I saved so many match points. I still cannot believe it.

“In tennis you play best-of-three or best-of-five, so there is always the chance to win the match. So I just tried to fight until the last point and it was a good option.

“This is the best result in my career so far. I’m very, very proud of it. Also in our country, maybe I can be a motivation for the young players. I’m very happy for that.” 

Klizan had the better of the chances in the first set against Monfils, but couldn’t convert any of his six break points before ultimately succumbing in the tie-break. But the Slovak came back strongly in the second set, earning the first break of the match in the eighth game, courtesy of a Monfils double fault.

Klizan carried his momentum into the decider and allowed Monfils just six points as he raced into a 5-0 lead. Monfils scrambled to get one break back, but Klizan finished with a trademark forehand winner as he broke the Frenchman again for victory in just under two hours.

The Slovak captured his fourth ATP World Tour title (4-0 finals record), adding to the trophies he lifted at the ATP World Tour 250 tournaments in St. Petersburg 2012, Munich 2014 and Casablanca 2015. He earns 500 Emirates ATP Rankings points and €363,400 in prize money.

The 29-year-old Monfils was bidding to win his sixth ATP World Tour title and drops to a 5-18 finals record. The Frenchman’s last title came two years ago against Richard Gasquet in the 2014 Montpellier final. The right-hander, who opened his season with a quarter-final showing at the Australian Open (l. to Raonic), has an 8-3 record in 2016.

“Martin played a very good match,” said Monfils. “I think he just played a brilliant match today, better than me, so well done to him. I had good matches, but still it’s tough to lose in the final.”
 

Top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah wasted no time in capturing their first ATP World Tour doubles title of the year, downing Inigo Cervantes and Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 6-0 in exactly one hour in the Argentina Open final on Sunday. It was Cabal/Farah’s fifth tour-level title in 13 final appearances.

“It was a great match,” Farah said. “[Juan Sebastian] and I thought that we played at a high level, and the score said it all. After we got the first break, we both returned very well. We were very relaxed in the second set and stayed focused.”

“We’re really happy to get the title in Buenos Aires,” Cabal added. “We felt good both on and off the court here. We were good in the key moments today.”

After surviving Match Tie-breaks in the quarter-finals and in the semi-finals, Cabal/Farah thrived in the final, saving all five break points faced while converting four of five break points on their opponents’ serve. The champions finished with four aces and landed 69 per cent of first serves.

Cervantes and Lorenzi were playing in their second tournament as a team. The Spaniard and the Italian partnered up last week in Quito and lost in the first round to Thomaz Bellucci and Marcelo Demoliner. It was Cervantes’ first ATP World Tour doubles final, while Lorenzi drops to 1-2 in final appearances (title at Vina del Mar 2013 with Starace).

Cabal/Farah earned 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points and will split $28,290, while Cervantes and Lorenzi took home 150 points and $14,870.

Top Americans John Isner and Jack Sock took in the magnificent views of Rio de Janeiro from the sky on Saturday evening as they were treated to a helicopter tour by Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci ahead of the Rio Open presented by Claro.

The trio flew over a number of iconic landmarks, including the statue of Christ the Redeemer, Sugarloaf Mountain and the Olympic Park, which will host the Summer Olympics in 2016.

As they flew over Christ the Redeemer, the players caught a glimpse of Italian Fabio Fognini, who was on top of the statue taking a selfie in a separate tournament PR activity.

“It was amazing,” said Isner. “From the ground you know how beautiful Rio is, and it’s even more beautiful from up in the clouds. It was an amazing experience for me. It was my first time in a helicopter. There’s no better way to experience that than flying over Rio. Everything was amazing, but flying over Christ the Redeemer was spectacular. It’s a once in a lifetime thing, so I’m very happy I was able to do it.

“I’m excited to get going,” continued the American, who is set to make his debut at this ATP World Tour 500 clay-court tournament. “I’ve never been here before, so I’m very happy to be down here. I’m in a great mood and enjoying life. Win or lose, I’m going to have a good time out here.”

Home favourite and eighth seed Bellucci added, “It’s the first time I’ve seen Rio from the skies. I hope John and Jack enjoyed it. The views were very nice. It was fantastic to see the tourist points of Rio from the skies. I enjoyed it a lot.

“It’s amazing to come back every year and play at home,” continued the left-hander, who recently finished runner-up to Victor Estrella Burgos in Quito. “I like playing here. The crowd is always very nice to me. I hope to have a good week and play well. I’m pretty confident. I had a good week in Ecuador. I’ve been practising a lot. I hope to have another good result this week. It would be very special for me to have a good week here in Rio.”

The 23-year-old Sock, who will open his campaign against Federico Delbonis, said, “I’ve never been in a helicopter. You hear about all the amazing sights here and views. To be above it all and looking down on the city, over Christ the Redeemer and all the beaches, it’s absolutely incredible. The pictures I’ve got don’t do it justice, but it was definitely a lot of fun.

“I’m coming off a month-long illness. I came down with a few different symptoms in Auckland and it lasted for a while. Coming back off that, I feel pretty good. I’m happy to be on the clay, my favourite surface. Hopefully I can get some matches in and get my feet wet.”

Nicolas Mahut and Vasek Pospisil captured their first ATP World Tour doubles title together on Sunday as they defeated Philipp Petzschner and Alexander Peya 7-6(2), 6-4 in the final of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament.

The French/Canadian duo prevailed at the ATP World Tour 500 indoor hard-court tournament in 79 minutes over Petzschner and Peya, who had knocked out top seeds and defending champions Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau in the semi-finals. After being thwarted on their first four break points, Mahut and Pospisil converted their fifth opportunity in the ninth game of the second set before serving out victory.

Playing together for just the second time after a first-round exit in Rotterdam last year, Mahut and Pospisil had saved one match point in a close semi-final win over Henri Kontinen and John Peers.

The 34-year-old Mahut captured his 11th tour-level doubles title. It is his second victory in Rotterdam, having lifted the trophy in 2014 with countryman Michael Llodra. Last year, Mahut claimed his first Grand Slam title at the US Open alongside Pierre-Hugues Herbert before the French duo made their debut at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

The 25-year-old Pospisil won his sixth ATP World Tour doubles crown. Four of his six titles have come alongside regular partner, Jack Sock, with whom he won the 2014 Wimbledon trophy.

Petzschner and Peya finished runners-up for the second time this season, having also lost in the Doha final in the first week of the season (l. to F. Lopez/ M. Lopez).