Gaston Gaudio picked up his first title since last year's French Open with a 6-3 6-4 victory over defending champion Fernando Gonzalez in the final of the ATP BellSouth Open in Vina del Mar.

Gonzalez was chasing a third title in his homeland, having won this tournament in 2002 and 2004, but the top-seeded Argentinian proved too strong.

Gaudio said: "I might not have played my best tennis but the important thing is to win a tournament like this.

"I knew the crowd would be like this, people cheering for Gonzalez, but I was mentally ready for that."

Gonzalez said: "It has been a very good week. Gaston played really well and there was not much to do or say about it.

"I tried hard but he played better than me."