RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay claimed his fourth ATP singles title with a 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-4 victory over Guido Pella of Argentina in the final of the Rio Open on Sunday.
The match was delayed for more than three hours by a torrential downpour with the first set tied at 3-3. Cuevas, who defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals, came out of the break fresher than Pella and broke the first-time ATP Tour finalist to capture the first set.
Cuevas then had a 5-4 lead in the second-set tiebreaker before Pella captured three straight points to force a deciding third set that didn't finish until after midnight.
According to the ATP, Cuevas became the first player in history to beat five left-handed opponents in consecutive matches to win a tour-level title.
In the women's final, former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone defeated American Shelby Rogers 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 for her seventh WTA title and first in nearly two years.
The victory marked a turnaround for the Italian, whose ranking has slipped to No. 132 after reaching No. 4 in 2011. She will return to the top 100 in Monday's WTA rankings.
The Rio Open was plagued by rain all week and the men's final was played in front of a sparse crowd at t center-court stadium.