(Reuters) – Brazilian teenager Thiago Seyboth Wild became the youngest player to win on Latin America’s ‘Golden Swing’ since Rafael Nadal in 2005 when he outlasted Norwegian second seed Casper Ruud 7-5 4-6 6-3 at the Chile Open on Sunday.
The 19-year-old wildcard collapsed to the ground in delight after Ruud sent a backhand wide on match point.
Seyboth Wild fired down 17 aces en route to his maiden tour-level title.
Ruud was full of praise for Seyboth Wild, who is two years younger than the Norwegian.
“He played amazing tennis all week. I can’t be too upset about my loss,” Ruud said. “He proved that he deserved his wildcard and took very good care of his opportunity. Even though I’m not that experienced myself, I can see that he’ll be around for many more years.”
The road to the title was not an easy one for Seyboth Wild as he had to overcome fifth-seeded Argentine Juan Ignacio Londero in the second round before advancing past top seeded Cristian Garin when the Chilean retired due to a left leg injury.
The 182nd-ranked Seyboth Wild, who had started the week with just two tour-level wins to his name, became the youngest Brazilian to win an ATP title.
He is expected to shoot up to a career-high 113th in the world when the new rankings are released on Monday.
Nadal, then 18, prevailed at Acapulco in 2005.
0 comments
Share
