VINA DEL MAR, Chile, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Fernando Gonzalez, the fifth seed, beat second seed Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil, 7-5, 6-4, Sunday in the final of the BellSouth Open.
A native of Santiago, Gonzalez claimed his fourth career title and first since Palermo in 2002.
Gonzalez won here for the second time, having also taken the crown two years ago, and improved to 10-0 lifetime at the tournament. He reached a pair of finals last season.
Ranked No. 1 four years ago, Kuerten came up short in his bid to secure a 20th career title. He won this event in 2000, when it was held in Santiago, and has earned at least one title each of the last seven years.
Kuerten saved one match point in the quarterfinals against Filippo Volandri and erased two set points Saturday in the semifinals before defeating defending champion David Sanchez.
