Almagro sinks Nalbandian in Acapulco final

Nicolas Almagro continued his torrid start to the season and David Nalbandian was helpless to slow him down.

Almagro won his second title of the year, derailing the top-seeded Nalbandian, 6-1, 7-6 (7-1) in the final of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel tennis tournament Saturday night.

The sixth-seeded Spaniard improved to 15-3 on the season and added the title of this $794,000 dual-gender claycourt event to the Costa do Sauipe championship he won last month.

“I’m so happy that whatever I say now is going to be positive,” Almagro said. “I worked really hard to get where I am today. … It’s incredible to have won two tournaments in two weeks.

“In Buenos Aires, I had a small injury but I managed to get healthy in time for Acapulco. I really like this tournament. The crowd was incredible all week long and I also have to thank them. They played a big role in my victories here this week.”

Almagro halted Nalbandian’s nine-match winning streak and handed the Argentine just his second loss in 12 matches this year.

Ranked eight in the world, Nalbandian moved back into the top 10 after claiming his eighth career ATP singles title in Buenos Aires last weekend.