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The 23-year-old Argentine Facundo Diaz Acosta claimed his first ATP title in his hometown of Buenos Aires, beating Nicolas Jarry 6-3, 6-4 in an hour and 44 minutes. Facundo kicked off the season with two ATP wins under his belt, playing mainly on Challengers and claiming four titles in 2023.
Diaz Acosta almost stunned Cameron Norrie in Buenos Aires last year, falling in the deciding tie break. There was no one to beat him at his hometown event this week, scoring five wins in straight sets and becoming the fourth first-time ATP champion in 2024.
Facundo used his invitation with both hands, kicking off the campaign with victories over Daniel Altmaier and his struggling compatriot Francisco Cerundolo. A left-hander took down Dusan Lajovic in the quarter-final and ousted fellow Argentine Federico Coria for a place in his first ATP final.
World no. 87 gathered a boost and ousted world no. 21 Jarry after a rock-solid display, lifting his first ATP title at his tenth ATP tournament. Diaz Acosta bested Jarry behind the second serve and in the pivotal moments, denying all six break chances and stealing the rival's serve once in each set.
Nicolas took down world no. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-final and made a reliable start in the final, creating three break points in the first game of the encounter. The home star denied them and held after Jarry's routine backhand error, avoiding an early setback.
World no. 21 held at love in game two following a forehand winner before facing issues at 1-2. The Chilean netted a forehand and offered the Argentine a break chance.
Nicolas hit a costly double fault, dropping serve and falling 3-1 behind. Diaz Acosta cemented the advantage with a forehand crosscourt winner in game five, holding at love and settling into a fine rhythm. Jarry repeated that in the sixth game, remaining within one break deficit.
Facundo moved 5-2 up thanks to the rival's terrible forehand, moving closer to the opener. Jarry held at 30 in game eight with a booming serve, and Diaz Acosta served for the set at 5-3. The home star brought it home in style, landing a drop shot winner and clinching the opener 6-3 in 39 minutes.
Facundo Diaz Acosta is an ATP champion at home in Buenos Aires.
Nicolas netted a routine forehand at the beginning of the second set, offering Facundo two break chances. The Argentine seized the first with a return winner, forging a set and a break advantage.
Diaz Acosta closed the second game with a service winner, doing everything right and keeping the strings of the duel in his hands. Firing from all cylinders, Facundo landed a backhand down the line winner for two break chances in the third game, hoping to terminate the rival's resistance.
Jarry denied them with powerful forehands and held with a smash winner, remaining within one break deficit. The Chilean saved another break point in game five, closing it with a service winner and staying in touch.
A left-hander grabbed the sixth game at love with a booming serve, standing two games away from the trophy.
The Argentine had to work harder behind the initial shot in the eighth game, facing two break points after seven flawless service games. Nicolas squandered both with backhand errors, allowing Facundo to wrap up the game and open a 5-3 gap.
The Argentine served for the title in game ten, and the Chilean gave everything in his last effort to prolong the battle. Facundo created three match points at 40-0 and squandered them. The fourth came and gone after Nicolas' solid return, and the Chilean earned a break chance after an entertaining point and a forehand winner.
A left-hander saved it with a service winner and missed his fifth match point after placing a backhand wide. Facundo created the sixth match point with a forced error and seized it after Nicola's forehand error, celebrating his first ATP title at 23.
Diaz Acosta was equally impressive in the semi-final against his compatriot Federico Coria, beating him 6-2, 6-3 in an hour and 24 minutes. Facundo served at 70% and kept everything under control in his games after denying four out of five break points.
Coria could not follow that pace in his games, playing against 11 break points and losing serve four times. Coria made a better start, breaking in the first game of the encounter and saving four break points in the next one for an early 2-0 lead.
Diaz Acosta broke back with a forehand winner in the fourth game and saved two break points in the next one, avoiding chasing the result again.
The younger Argentine secured his second break in a row in game six, landing a forehand winner and moving 4-2 in front. Diaz Acosta clinched his third consecutive return game at 5-2, wrapping up the opener in style and gathering a boost ahead of set number two.
The second set was more fluid, offering good serving in the opening seven games. Facundo held at 15 in game seven and stepped in on the return in the next one. He broke at 15 after Coria's loose backhand, moving 5-3 up and serving for the win. Diaz Acosta held after deuce, landing a service winner to seal the deal and advance into the title clash.