AUCKLAND, Jan 12: Former world number one Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil overcame Slovakia’s Dominik Hrbaty 6-3 7-5 to win the Auckland Open on Sunday.

Seeded four for this event, Kuerten said the win was a great way to start the year as he heads to Melbourne for the Australian Open in a confident mood.

“This tournament has given me loads of practice and I feel so much better heading into the Australian Open than other years,” Kuerten said.

The final was relatively easy for Kuerten, who had a vast legion of yellow-shirted compatriots cheering every point.

He broke Hrbaty in the seventh game of the first set and again in the ninth to seal the opener before breaking his opponent in the 12th game of the second set to seal the victory.

Hrbaty — who won this event in 2001 — had a number of break points, but admitted he made too many mistakes at crucial times.

“He was able to serve much better and play better from the baseline because of my errors,” Hrbaty said.—Reuters