Garcia-Lopez breaks ATP title drought

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GuillermoGarcia-Lopez

The 30-year-old looked to be heading for defeat when Marcel Granollers took the first set in the all-Spanish final, but he staged an excellent recovery to triumph 5-7 6-4 6-3 in Casablanca.

The win, which took more than two and a half hours to complete, sealed a third career ATP title for Garcia-Lopez and was his first since prevailing at the Thailand Open four years ago.

"I'm very happy to win this title," Garcia-Lopez told the ATP's official website.

"I (have) known Marcel for a long time. We practice together in tournaments. The match was really close."

Garcia-Lopez won 76 per cent of points on his first serve, claiming five breaks, and Granollers admitted that the better player won.

"It was a tough match for both," Granollers said.

"I think we played solid and I made a few mistakes. I didn't deserve to win the title...it was a big battle today and unfortunately I didn't win the match.

"I'm happy with the week. I won three matches."

Fourth seed Granollers struck first in the ATP 250 clay-court event, breaking in the seventh game, only for Garcia-Lopez to level immediately.

It mattered little, though, with world number 36 Granollers claiming another break of serve to take the opener.

Garcia-Lopez worked his way to a 3-1 lead in the second, only to be pegged back to 4-4, but he held with ease before breaking to set up a third and final set.

The back-and-forth nature of the encounter continued, as Granollers took a 2-0 lead in the decider, but he won just one point in the next four games as Garcia-Lopez stepped up the pressure.

And the eighth seed refused to let his dominant position slip, capping a fine comeback with a flourish, holding to love in his final service game to make sure of victory.

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