Etcheverry Wins First ATP Title At Rio Open

Tomas Martin Etcheverry
Tomas Martin Etcheverrry (photo: Rio Open/Fotojump)

RIO DE JANEIRO/WASHINGTON, February 23, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)

Tomas Martin Etcheverry will not soon forget his longest but most rewarding day of his professional tennis career. In his week at the Rio Open presented by Claro, in which he started ranked No. 51 but will leave one of the most visited cities in the Southern Hemisphere as World No. 36 – and a return to the Top 40 for the first time in a year – Etcheverry scored a career milestone as he won his first ATP Tour title. He simply refused to lose.

Sunday evening on Quadra Guga Kuerten at the Jockey Club Brasileiro, Etcheverry won the ATP 500 title on red clay with his comeback 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 championship victory over No. 68 Alejandro Tabilo of Chile in three hours and four minutes.

The eighth-seeded Etcheverry advanced to the title match after completing his semifinal victory over 87th-ranked Vit Kopriva of Czechia, which began Saturday afternoon and was suspended at 10:30 p.m. Saturday night, with Kopriva ahead 5-4. Etcheverry returned to Quadra Guga Kuerten Sunday morning at 11 a.m. and outlasted Kopriva, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4), in three hours and 57 minutes. The semifinal was interrupted after the completion of the second set – not by rain this time, but rather by the heat index.

Meanwhile, over on Quadra 1, Tabilo reached the final with a 6-3, 6-3 win over 91st-ranked Ignacio Buse of Peru, that was finished in an economical one hour and 12 minutes.

As the Sunday evening final unfolded, Tabilo won the 46-minute opening set after breaking Etcheverry to go ahead 3-1 in the opening set. He outpointed Etcheverry 36-25 and looked to be the stronger player.

Soon, midway through the second set of the final, Etcheverry looked physically whooped. However, the 26-year-old Argentine, who two years ago in Lyon was a point away from garnering his first tour-level title, dug deep and persevered. At 4-all, Etcheverry held serve after he saved a pair of break points during a grueling 5-deuce, 16-point game with his seventh ace of the final. Then, with Etcheverry ahead 6-5, Tabilo saved a break point at 30-40 and held serve to force a second-set tie-break.

Etcheverry took an early 4-2 lead in the tie-break and, soon, increased it to 6-2 with an ace. On his second set point, Tabilo hit a ninth-shot forehand long and Etcheverry won the tie-break 7-3 to pull out the set and to send the title match to a decider.

As the final set developed, Etcheverry broke Tabilo on his third break-point opportunity of the third game, after the Chilean hit a seventh-shot wide to go ahead 2-1. During the changeover, Tabilo took a medical time out to deal with a lower back problem. At the same time, rain began to intensify but play continued.

Next, Etcheverry consolidated the break with a solid hold for a 3-1 lead. Then, he gained a couple of break points in Tabilo’s ensuing service game but was stymied twice. The Argentine was unable to grab a double-break lead. Instead, Tabilo held serve to remain close.

However, Etcheverry remained solid in his next two service games and, soon, held on to a 5-3 advantage as time began to run out on Tabilo. After Tabilo held serve, it put the match on Etcheverry’s racquet following the last changeover of the title match. 

Serving for his first ATP Tour title, Etcheverry denied Tabilo – but he had to work hard for it. Ahead 40-15, with two championship points, the 26-year-old from La Plata lost back-to-back 27-shot rallies. It gave Tabilo a deuce point.

On his third championship point opportunity, Etcheverry won a shorter but no less dramatic eight-shot rally after Tabilo sent a forehand long. Finally, the special moment was the Argentine’s to enjoy. Etcheverry fell to the clay and lay on his back. The celebration was just beginning. 

Etcheverry, who was outpointed by Tabilo 108-104, finished with 46 winners – including 14 aces. He converted three of nine break points and saved six of nine break points he faced from Tabilo.

“This is a dream come true for me,” Etcheverry said during a brief on-court interview before the trophy ceremony. He had previously lost his first three ATP Tour singles finals. “I was looking for a while for my first title. I’ve been working so hard with my team and I can’t believe it.”

Just two days after Etcheverry earned his 100th career ATP Tour victory – and a week after he beat Tabilo in the Buenos Aires quarterfinals – he kept the 28-year-old Tabilo, born in Toronto, Ont., Canada, from winning his four tour-level title, which would have been his first on clay. If it’s any consolation for Tabilo, already up 26 spots to No. 42 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, he is set to return to the Top 50 on Monday for the first time since last May. 

For, Etcheverry, it was a proud moment in his career. “I just tried to give my 100 percent,” he said. “It was the final, the last match of the tournament. So, I gave my 100 percent and I think at the end, I have the prize.”

Indeed, it was a day and a week in Rio that Etcheverry will never forget.

 

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