Once again, Alberto Martin came up one win short at the Brazil Open.

The seventh seed from Spain, Martin, was beaten by sixth-seeded Chilean Nicolas Massu, 6-3 6-4, in the final of the claycourt event.

Martin, who dropped to 3-2 in career ATP finals, fell to compatriot Rafael Nadal in the final here last year.

"I want to congratulate Nicolas for this title. He deserved to win," Martin said. "This is a great tournament and this was my second final here. I hope I can come back many times and maybe win the title."

Massu, a surprise double gold medalist in the 2004 Olympics, improved to 6-6 in career finals with his second win in seven career meetings with Martin.

"I am very happy since this is my first title since the Olympics," Massu said. "I did get nervous at the end of the match but I managed to close it and win this very important title."

Massu served for the match at 5-2 but had to wait until serving out at 5-4 to claim his fifth clay court singles title on his third match point.

"This tournament is great and I see that it improves every year," Massu said. "I also want to congratulate Beto Martin for a great week. He is a great player and a great person."