Argentine Baez wins back-to-back Rio Open titles

RIO DE JANEIRO : Argentina's Sebastian Baez retained his title at the Rio Open on Sunday by beating France's Alexandre Muller 6-2 6-3 to claim his seventh ATP title.

The 24-year-old Baez quickly found his rhythm, breaking Muller in the seventh game to take a 5-2 lead before closing out the first set to love.

Despite Muller's best efforts in the second set, where he took a 3-2 lead and put the South American under pressure, Baez rallied and wrapped up the contest, hitting 26 winners and making just 23 unforced errors.

"It's been tough all week and over the last month, but I'm so happy now, for the title and of course for every match I played," Baez said.

"You want to win every final, every title, but I tried to concentrate in every game, one point at a time. I think the support is very important, so I'm grateful for my team," he added.