SAO PAULO: Argentine Federico Delbonis won his first ATP title by defeating Paolo Lorenzi of Italy 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the Brazil Open final on Sunday.

Delbonis broke Lorenzi’s serve to start the decisive set and held on to close the match in 2 hours, 6 minutes after converting on his second match point. He jumped and punched the air after sending a winner down the line past the outstretched arms of Lorenzi.

Delbonis celebrated a nearly perfect week in which he also reached the semifinals in the doubles tournament.

“To tell you the truth, I have no words,” Delbonis said. “I played well match after match. It was a great result in the end.” The 23-year-old lefty was playing only in his second ATP final. He had lost to Fabio Fognini of Italy last July after upsetting Roger Federer in the semifinals in Hamburg.

With the victory at the ATP 250 tournament in Sao Paulo, Delbonis will move to 45th in the ATP rankings, a career best.

Li too busy

Australian Open champion Li Na on Monday defended her decision to skip the International Premier Tennis League, as she targets more Grand Slams and the world number one spot.

The inaugural edition of the IPTL takes place later this year with matches in Bangkok, Mumbai, Singapore and Dubai geared to raise the profile of the game across Asia and the Middle East.

But the event, modelled on cricket’s financially successful Indian Premier League, has been dealt a blow by the absence of Asia’s top male and female players — Japan’s Kei Nishikori and second-ranked Li.

The Chinese star became Asia’s first Grand Slam winner at the 2011 French Open and followed it up with a second major title at Melbourne in January, propelling her to a career-high rankings position.

Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) chief Stacey Allaster has placed the 32-year-old at the head of a concerted push into Asia including multiple new tournaments in China and the end-of-season championships in Singapore.

In September, Li’s home city of Wuhan will host a new, premier-level competition, one of six WTA events on Chinese soil this year.

Davenport elected

Three-time Grand Slam champion Lindsay Davenport has been elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

The American was joined in the enshrinement class on Monday by Dutch five-time Paralympic medalist Chantal Vandierendonck, coach Nick Bollettieri, executive Jane Brown Grimes and British broadcaster John Barrett.

Davenport won the 1998 US Open, 1999 Wimbledon, 2000 Australian Open and 1996 Olympic gold medal to go with three major doubles titles. She held the world No. 1 ranking for 98 weeks in her career.

Bollettieri has coached 10 players to the No. 1 ranking, including Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Monica Seles and Boris Becker.