Brasil Open · History

The Brasil Open was an ATP men's tennis tournament played in Brazil from 2001 to 2019, over 19 editions. It started in 2001 as part of the International Series and joined the ATP 250 category in 2009. It had two homes. From 2001 to 2011 it was held at the Costa do Sauípe resort in Mata de São João, in the state of Bahia. From 2012 to 2019 it was staged in São Paulo, mostly at the Ginásio do Ibirapuera and for two years at Esporte Clube Pinheiros. The first three editions were played on hard courts. The event switched to clay in 2004 and was played indoors during the Ibirapuera years.

The ATP returns to Brazil at Costa do Sauípe

The 2001 edition brought a main-tour event back to Brazil, after earlier Brazilian tournaments had run from 1986 to 1993. In its first seasons it was played on hard courts in the weeks before the US Open, a slot that suited players who stayed in the Americas. Czech player Jan Vacek won the first final against Brazil's Fernando Meligeni 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-3. In 2002 Gustavo Kuerten came from a set down to beat Argentina's Guillermo Coria 6-7(4), 7-5, 7-6(2). In 2003 Sjeng Schalken of the Netherlands beat Germany's Rainer Schüttler 6-2, 6-4.

Clay and a February slot

In 2004 the tournament moved to clay and to February, as part of the South American swing. Kuerten won again that year, beating Argentina's Agustín Calleri 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, and it was the last title of his career. In 2005 Rafael Nadal beat fellow Spaniard Alberto Martín 6-0, 6-7(2), 6-1 in the final, a few months before his first French Open title. Martín lost the 2006 final as well, this time to Chile's Nicolás Massú. Guillermo Cañas beat Juan Carlos Ferrero in 2007, and Nicolás Almagro beat Carlos Moyá 7-6(4), 3-6, 7-5 in 2008. In 2009 Tommy Robredo beat Thomaz Bellucci in the final. Ferrero took the 2010 title 6-1, 6-0 over Poland's Łukasz Kubot, and Almagro closed the Bahia years in 2011 with a win over Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov.

The move to São Paulo

In 2012 the Brasil Open moved to São Paulo and set up at the Ginásio do Ibirapuera on indoor clay. Almagro won the first São Paulo edition against Filippo Volandri for his third title at the event. In February 2013 Nadal won it again, after seven months out with a left knee injury. He beat David Nalbandian 6-2, 6-3 in the final for the 51st singles title of his career, his first since the 2012 French Open. In 2014 Argentina's Federico Delbonis beat Paolo Lorenzi 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. In 2015 Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas beat Italy's Luca Vanni 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4).

Pinheiros and the final editions

In 2016 and 2017 the tournament was played outdoors at Esporte Clube Pinheiros, and Cuevas won both editions. In 2016 he beat Pablo Carreño Busta 7-6(4), 6-3. In 2017 he came from a set down against Albert Ramos Viñolas to win 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4. His three titles matched Almagro's record for the most singles titles at the event. The tournament returned to the Ibirapuera in 2018, when Italy's Fabio Fognini beat Chile's Nicolás Jarry 1-6, 6-1, 6-4. Argentina's Guido Pella won the last final in 2019, beating Chile's Cristian Garín 7-5, 6-3. On 15 October 2019 the organisers announced that the tournament would be scrapped in favour of the Chile Open, which returned in 2020.

Doubles and Brazilian champions

In doubles, Bruno Soares won three straight titles with three different partners: Marcelo Melo in 2011, American Eric Butorac in 2012 and Austrian Alexander Peya in 2013. Melo had already won in 2008 with André Sá. Sá won again in 2017 with Rogério Dutra Silva, beating Marcus Daniell and Marcelo Demoliner in the final. Czech pair Lukáš Dlouhý and Pavel Vízner won in 2006 and 2007. Argentina's Federico Delbonis and Máximo González took the last two editions, in 2018 and 2019. In the 2019 final they beat Luke Bambridge and Jonny O'Mara 6-4, 6-3.