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Juan Martin del Potro - Source: Photosport -
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Tournament top seed Juan Martin Del Potro gave a champagne performance to take out the 2009 Heineken Open, fighting off a brave challenge from Sam Querrey 6-4 6-4.
The Argentinean was a class above throughout and showed true composure on the biggest points in the one hour 24 minute match on Saturday.
Del Potro was particularly impressive in having to win the first set 'twice', after a line judge corrected her own call on set point in the opening set.
Sixth seed Querrey had opportunities in both sets but whenever the American got a sniff, Del Potro would slam the door.
"I won the break points and he didn't" was the Argentinean's succinct summary.
It is Del Potro's sixth career title, and the 20-year-old is the youngest champion at the Heineken Open since 1979.
Before the match world number 36 Querrey had only won 3 times in 21 attempts against top-ten players, and on Saturday he failed to produce his 'A' game against the world number nine Del Potro.
"He is a tough guy to play against, he has a great forehand, great backhand" Querrey said of his opponent.
He converted a lot of break points and I have to be a little more consistent" Querrey said.
The American underdog had the worst possible start, dropping his serve in the very first game in just one minute.
Once he got his nerves under control though, the 1.98m Querrey started to play some classy tennis, manunovering his opponent around the court.
In the sixth game he forced two break opportunities and clinched the second to force his way back into the match.
But the latter stages are when the players earn their money, and Del Potro rose to the occasion.
He held serve to level at 4-4, despite two wonderful Querrey forehands from the back of the court.
In the very next game Del Potro hustled the American into errors and a break opportunity, opening the window on the first set.
The next game was dramatic.
Querrey saved a set point, but sent a backhand pass long on the second and that was the set.
Or maybe not, as in a moment of real drama, the lineperson corrected herself, the umpire not realising until the players were almost sitting in their chairs.
So the combantants were sent back out on court to replay the point.
In the high stakes of a final and the intense arena that is professional tennis, the South American could have been forgiven for dropping his bundle at this moment and losing control.
But he stayed focussed, even when Querrey saved another set point, before executing perfectly on the fourth to take the first set in 43 minutes.
Querrey had to lift his game to stay in the match and did, managing a 63% first serve percentage in the second set (compared with 47% in the opening set) but Del Potro lifted too, from 57% to an imposing 80%.
The key moment in the match came in the 4th game of the second set.
In the 3rd game Querrey had held strongly, firing down two aces, gaining some momentum and a 2-1 edge and now had the tournament top seed at 15-40.
Del Potro was ice-cool escaping both break opportunities, and sent a 201 km/h ace past a frustrated Querrey to save a third break point.
When the Argentinean boomed a 205km/h ace to level at 2-2 there was a sense of no road back for Querrey, as mentally he was gone.
Just an in the first set, Del Potro broke Querrey to take a 5-4 lead and coolly served out the match to seal his first title of 2009 and a winner's cheque of US$78,000.
The players now head to Melbourne for the Australian Open and the first Grand Slam of 2009.
Del Potro will face unheralded German Mischa Zverev in the first round, while Querrey takes on another 2008 Heineken Open champion Philipp Kohlscreiber, who is under an injury cloud after his withdrawl from the Heineken Open on Thursday.
