Jose Acasuso saw off an exhausted David Sanchez to win the XL Capital Bermuda Open final in front of a packed house at a sun-drenched Coral Beach yesterday.

Acasuso's well-deserved 7-6, 6-1 triumph gave the Argentine teenager his first senior title and with the talent he displayed yesterday it is likely to be the first of many.

Spaniard Sanchez, who during the tournament earned the nickname `The Comeback Kid' with a series of come-from-behind victories, stormed back from 5-1 down in the first set to force a tie-break.

But once the first set had gone the South American's way, Sanchez capitulated under relentless pressure as his young opponent grew in confidence.

Acasuso hit serves and groundstrokes of devatsating power and drop shots of equally devstating subtlety. His backhand, struck with a flourishing follow-through reminiscent of Gustavo Kuerten, the world's best on clay, was a particularly penetrating weapon.

When he converted his second match point with a forehand pass down the line, Acasuso laid on his back in the green clay and punched the air with delight.

Speaking through an interpreter afterwards, Acasuso said: "This win was very important for me, because this is the first Challenger title I have won and it will give me confidence to play my next event.

"My next tournament will be in Barcelona and I feel very comfortable and I think I can do well in that and the one after in Houston.'' The Argentine won over the crowd with his relaxed attitude, his frequent smiles suggesting he was genuinely enjoying himself.

In this, his first year on the Tour, Acasuso had already been a losing finalist twice, in Buenos Aires and Montevideo, but said he had felt no nerves coming into his third final.

"No I felt very relaxed, as always,'' he said. "Sometimes I felt a bit of tension when I had to win a big point, but most of the match I was relaxed.'' And even during his opponent's strong fightback in the first set, the youngster said he had never been seriously concerned.

"I never felt that worried,' he said. "I was feeling bad because I made a few mistakes, but I came back well to win.'' Many in the know are predicting a big future for Acasuso and the youngster said his top ambition was to win the French Open. But he was not setting himself goals in terms of climbing up the rankings.

"I don't think about the rankings,' he claimed. "I just think about the next tournament and take the matches day by day. Now I'm in the top 100, I expect to do better all the time.

"I have had a good time this week. The people who have come to watch and the people I've met on the Island have been very kind.

"I feel really good around these people, the way they have treated me and the way they give back to me. I came here last year, I wanted to come back this year and I certainly want to come back next year because of the way people have treated me.'' The final lasted one hour, 38 minutes, but could have been much quicker had Acasuso taken his chances. In the first set, he converted just two of 13 break points, as Sanchez time and again showed his ability to climb out of a hole.

At 5-4 in the tie-breaker, Acasuso earned himself a set point with a stunning drop shot in response to Sanchez's powerful return of serve and then clinched the set.

Sanchez acknowledged afterwards that the loss of the tie-break had broken him mentally.

And he added that a series of gruelling three-set matches had taken their toll on him, including his semi-final against qualifier Mike Russell on Saturday.

Sanchez came back from 5-1 down in the third set against Russell and survived five match points before winning the decisive tie-break 11-9.

Acasuso also came through a three-set semi-final, in which he played a calamitous first set before he eventually defeated Peru's Luis Horna 1-6, 6-3, 6-3.

"I felt tired to start with, but when I got back to 5-5, I was feeling great,'' Sanchez said after yesterday's match. "But when I lost the tie-break, that really bothered me mentally.

"I could have lost on Saturday and I could have lost against Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, so it's been a very positive week for me.

"I was so tired today and I feel Jose psychologically took advantage of that and that's what eventually decided it.

"He is a very difficult opponent and has a lot of strength and he just played better and better.'' Atlanta is next stop on the ATP Tour circuit for Sanchez, followed by Houston.

From the outset, it was clear that Acasuso had the edge on power over Sanchez.

He broke the Sanchez serve in the third game and surged into a 5-1 lead.

Sanchez changed his racket in the sixth game and then his fortunes changed too.

He broke the Argentine's serve and then held his own serve from 0-40 down in typical battling fashion. Suddenly, the Spaniard, who throughout this tournament has specialised in finding his best form in apparently hopeless situations, found himself 6-5 up.

Acasuso pulled out some big serves to force the tie-break, in which he never fell behind as he won 7-4.

The demoralising effect of losing that first set after such a fightback became clear. Just over 20 minutes later, Sanchez trailed 5-0 in the second set.

The Spaniard hung onto his serve to delay the inevitable, which came at 3.48 p.m. when Acasuso steered a forehand winner down the line after a thrilling exchange at the net.

Photos by David Skinner Fearsome forehand: Jose Acasuso's racket is just a blur as he wields it to devastating effect during his straight-sets victory over Spain's David Sanchez in the Bermuda Open final yesterday.

True grit: Spaniard David Sanchez is determination personified as he battles Argentina's Jose Acasuso in yesterday's Bermuda Open final at Coral Beach Club.

Worthy winner: Bermuda Open champion Jose Acasuso holds aloft the Bermuda Open trophy at sun-drenched Coral Beach yesterday.