© Sergio Llamera/Argentina Open
Ariel Behar (right) and Gonzalo Escobar defeat top seeds Austin Krajicek and Franco Skugor on their way to the Argentina Open final.
Fourth seeds seeking their second ATP Tour trophy of 2021
Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar booked a spot into their second ATP Tour final of the year with a hard-fought 7-6(6), 4-6, 10-3 victory over top seeds Austin Krajicek and Franko Skugor at the Argentina Open on Saturday.
The Uruguayan-Ecuadorian duo turned heads earlier in the year when they lifted their first ATP Tour trophy at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com, after winning five ATP Challenger Tour titles together in 2020.
Mektic/Pavic Reach Third Final Of 2021
Behar and Escobar maintained the momentum against Krajicek and Skugor, who clinched their first title as a team at the Generali Open in Kitzbuhel last year. The fourth seeds claimed a tight opening set in a tie-break, but couldn’t break through in the second set as Krajicek and Skugor forced a Match Tie-break.
The Delray champions bounced back in the decider, and closed out their spot in the final after a one-hour and 51-minute battle.
Behar and Escobar will face Tomislav Brkic and Nikola Cacic for a shot at the Argentina Open title. Brkic and Cacic advanced to the final after a 3-6, 7-6(5), 10-5 victory over Joao Sousa and Dominik Koepfer on Friday. The Bosnian-Serbian duo won an ATP Challenger Tour event in Forli last year.