Nicolas Almagro of Spain put an exclamation mark to his preparations for this year's Roland Garros 2012 French Open major by defending his title at the 2012 Open de Nice Côte d'Azur in Nice, France. The no. 3-seed defeated American qualifier and world No. 216 Brian Baker 6-3, 6-2 in 70 minutes to end the latter's dream run to his first ever ATP final. Almagro has now won 12 ATP titles and improved his record to 12-5 in ATP tournament final matches. This also marks his third time to defend a title after doing the same in the Valencia Open in 2006-07 and the Abierto Mexicano Telcel at Acapulco in 2008-09. The 26 year old Spaniard received €71,900 in prize money and 250 ranking points, while Baker took home €37,860 and 150 points.
The win in Nice is Almagro's second title for the season after also lifting the crown in Sao Paulo, Brazil earlier this year. He also reached the finals at Buenos Aires before falling down to fellow Spaniard and world no. 6 David Ferrer. Almagro was seeded third in this tournament behind American John Isner and Gilles Simon of France. Almagro dominated the tournament and won the title without the loss of a set. He now improves his record to a still perfect 8-0 in the tournament. In an interview, Almagro said "I am very happy with my serve and my forehand. I moved on the court very, very well. Today, was one of those matches you want to keep in your mind for the rest of the season, because I couldn't have played much better. Today was amazing. I am happy with my form, my tennis and my team. We will aim to keep working hard, so I play, in future, as I did today."
Baker became the ninth player this season trying to capture his first ATP title and also the ninth player to fail in doing so. He was also trying to become the first American to win a title this year as the only final appearances by Americans were when John Isner reached the title matches in Indian Wells and Houston. Still, it's been a fairy-tale run for Baker as he reached his first ever ATP title after failing to go beyond the second round in an ATP-level event before this tournament. With his performance this week, Baker will rise to a career high ranking within the world's top 150 players, and he also more than doubled his prize money for the season.
With the win, Almagro will overtake Janko Tipsaveric as no. 10 in this year's prize money leaders list. In the ATP 2012 singles race to London rankings, Almagro will pass Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to rise to the no. 8 position. See the lists below.
ATP 2012 Year-to-Date Prize Money Leaders - As of May 21, 2012
1 Djokovic, Novak $4,006,402
2 Nadal, Rafael $3,368,954
3 Federer, Roger $3,229,009
4 Ferrer, David $1,238,783
5 Murray, Andy $1,229,361
6 Berdych, Tomas $1,123,515
7 Del Potro, Juan Martin $1,092,185
8 Isner, John $803,736
9 Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried $733,051
10 Tipsarevic, Janko $649,315
11 Almagro, Nicolas $629,202
12 Stepanek, Radek $606,613
13 Simon, Gilles $604,122
14 Verdasco, Fernando $582,808
15 Raonic, Milos $561,938
ATP 2012 Singles Race to London Rankings - As of May 21, 2012
1 Djokovic, Novak (SRB) 4,920
2 Nadal, Rafael (ESP) 4,750
3 Federer, Roger (SUI) 4,225
4 Ferrer, David (ESP) 2,580
5 Berdych, Tomas (CZE) 2,325
6 Murray, Andy (GBR) 2,240
7 Del Potro, Juan Martin (ARG) 2,060
8 Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried (FRA) 1,385
9 Almagro, Nicolas (ESP) 1,315
10 Raonic, Milos (CAN) 1,265
11 Tipsarevic, Janko (SRB) 1,250
12 Isner, John (USA) 1,200
13 Simon, Gilles (FRA) 1,195
14 Monaco, Juan (ARG) 1,055
15 Verdasco, Fernando (ESP) 1,030
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