No. 5 seed Sebastian Baez of Argentina successfully defended his title at the Rio Open with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over France’s Alexandre Muller in the final Sunday in Rio de Janeiro.

Muller made Baez work for the honor throughout the one-hour, 26-minute final, but Baez saved four of the five break points he faced to remain in control. He won 24 of his 33 first-service points (72.7 percent) and had three aces without a double fault.

The ATP 500-level event marked Baez’s first tournament victory of the season and the seventh of his career.

He did not have to defeat a single seeded player throughout his run, and three of his victories came over fellow Argentines: Roman Andres Burruchaga (first round), Mariano Navone (second round) and Camilo Ugo Carabelli (semifinals).

–Field Level Media