Duran/Molteni Claim Umag Doubles Title

Guillermo Duran and Andres Molteni claimed their first team ATP World Tour doubles title at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag on Saturday.

The third-seeded Argentines needed one hour and 36 minutes to dispatch Croatian wild cards Marin Draganja and Tomislav Draganja 6-3, 6-7(4), 10-6. They fired four aces, while converting four of nine break chances.

Duran and Molteni had an opportunity to close it out in the second set, but failed to convert on a pair of match points in the ninth game. They would drop the ensuing tie-break, but eventually emerged victorious in the deciding Match Tie-break.

“We are so happy to win this week,” said Duran. “Thanks to Andres for playing with me. We were a little nervous in the final, but it’s amazing to win this tournament.”

The duo are the first all-Argentine team to win on the ATP World Tour since Molteni and Horacio Zeballos prevailed in Atlanta one year ago. The third seeds battled to the title, having taken a three-set encounter against top seeds and doubles legends Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor in Friday’s semi-finals.

“It was a great week here with my partner,” added Molteni. “We had a great time in Umag. We are very happy to win the tournament. I hope next we can come back to defend it. It’s a really good tournament and the organisation is really good. It was really nice to be here.”

Duran improved to 3-0 in tour-level finals while Molteni moved to 3-1 in title matches. All of their titles have come with different partners, with Duran previously lifting the trophy in Quito last year with Pablo Carreno Busta and in Marrakesh with Maximo Gonzalez. Molteni’s first triumph also came last year, with Zeballos in Atlanta, before prevailing with Adil Shamasdin in Lyon two months ago.

Duran and Molteni split €26,110 in prize money, while also earning 250 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points.

The Draganja brothers, meanwhile, were appearing in their first team final. Marin fell to 4-5 in finals, while Tomislav was seeking his maiden crown.