Cristian Garinis celebrating his first title of the year…
The 23-year-old Chilean tennis player won the third ATP Tour title of his career on Sunday, coming back from a set down for the third consecutive match to beat top seed Diego Schwartzman 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 in central Argentina’s Cordoba Open.
After a slow start, Garin overpowered the home favorite, stepping into the court to put the Argentine on the defense and leave him gasping for air.
The home crowd tried to will their man to his first title on home soil, but Garin played fearlessly in the second and third sets, hitting lines and never backing down against the 27-year-old Buenos Aires native.
“Argentina is like my second home… I did not expect to win and I am very happy of course,” said Garin. “I’ve won three tournaments in 11 months, its quite a cool thing.”
Garin improved to 3-1 in ATP Tour finals, all of which have come in the past 12 months. The Chilean was off to a dismal start in 2020 before Cordoba, going 0-3 at the ATP Cupand falling in the second round of the Australian Open(l. to Raonic).
But Garin ended 2019 as one of the premier clay-court players on the ATP Tour and has started 2020 the exact same way.
“I always thought I could turn the match and win,” said Garin. “That’s how it has been all week for me and it’s what I value most. I think I’m having my best moment but I have a lot to improve.”
He will receive 250 ATP Rankings points and $91,625 in prize money. Schwartzman, who fell to 3-5 in ATP Tour finals, will take home $50,710 in prize money and 150 ATP Rankings points.
