Brazilian Rafael Alarcon celebrated his maiden appearance in a PSA World Tour event this year in perfect style by winning the Tour de las Americas Paraguay Open, the PSA Challenger 5 event in its fourth year at Club Internacional de Tenis in Asuncion.
Winner of the title in 2009 and 2010, the 35-year-old from Sao Paulo faced top seed Jan Koukal in the final. Whilst Alarcon had come through his semi-final against Argentinean Gonzalo Miranda in straight games, the Czech number one had survived an 80-minute marathon against Joan Lezaud, only squeezing past the third-seeded Frenchman 11-7 in the decider.
“Koukal’s semi took its toll – and Rafa was always in control,” said event organiser Esteban Casarino after the Brazilian cruised to his 11-6, 11-5, 11-9 title triumph in 31 minutes.
The win marks Alarcon’s 18th Tour title – making the world No75 the South American with the most titles on the PSA World Tour.
Presentation picture shows Alarcon (left) with runner-up Koukal
Semi-finals:
[1] Jan Koukal (CZE) bt [3] Joan Lezaud (FRA) 11-7, 9-11, 14-12, 7-11, 11-7 (80m)
[2] Rafael Alarcon (BRA) bt Gonzalo Miranda (ARG) 11-4, 11-6, 17-15 (41m)
Final:
[2] Rafael Alarcon (BRA) bt [1] Jan Koukal (CZE) 11-6, 11-5, 11-9 (31m)
