Granollers beats Monaco to lift Valencia tennis title

Spain's Marcel Granollers won his second title of the year when he beat Argentina's Juan Monaco 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7/3) at the Valencia Open here on Sunday. It was a third crown for the 34th-ranked Spaniard, who finished runner-up here last year to compatriot David Ferrer, and whose previous titles were on clay at Gstaad this year and Houston in 2008. Both players arrived unseeded in Valencia and had taken some notable scalps on their way to the final which lasted over three hours on the hard courts of the iconic Agora building in Spain's third city. Granollers, 25, beat number three seed Gael Monfils and in-form Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro en route to the final while Monaco saw off three Spaniards - Nicolas Almagro, former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero and top seed Ferrer. The 27-year-old Argentine showed great fight to come back from a set down against a tenacious Granollers and take the match to the wire. But the Spaniard displayed great speed and superb tennis from the back of the court. Granollers began well breaking Monaco's serve in the second game and racing to a 3-0 lead before finally taking the first set 6-2. An early break helped Monaco pull level by taking the second set 6-4. Monaco broke serve early in the third set and held his advantage until the eighth game. The two held serve in the final four games to send the title match to a deciding tie-break. The Spaniard got a quick mini-break and never looked back, finally defeating the Argentine just as the match moved into its fourth hour of play. Monaco had been bidding to end a title drought dating back to 2007, when he won all three of his titles. Both players could possibly meet again in Seville in less than a month, when Argentina will bid to win their first ever Davis Cup Final.