Stuttgart, July 21: Guillermo Coria crowned a week of remarkable claycourt tennis with a crushing 6-2 6-2 6-1 win over Spaniard Tommy Robredo in the Mercedes Cup final in Stuttgart. The Argentine baseliner, who has not dropped a set in the Stuttgart tournament, turned on another commanding display on Sunday (July 20) for his second title of the year in Germany after winning the Hamburg Masters in May. Second seed Coria, who also reached the final in Monte Carlo and the quarter-finals of the French Open this year, never gave fellow 21-year-old Robredo a chance. The Spaniard, seeded ninth, was looking for his second ATP title after winning two years ago in Sopot, Poland, but he kept making unforced errors under constant pressure from a confident Coria. Coria had demolished defending champion Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 6-0 6-0 in the quarter-finals. Coria took control straight away, sealing the first set with a forehand winner after 33 minutes.


Serving extremely well and dictating play from the baseline, he stayed on top in the second set, cruising after a backhand wide from Robredo gave him a break for a 3-1 lead.


Result from Sunday's final of the 765,000 euros Mercedes Cup ATP tennis tournament (prefix number denotes seeding): 2-Guillermo Coria (Argentina) beat 9-Tommy Robredo (Spain) 6-2 6-2 6-1


Bureau Report