Former #6 junior in the world Gastao Elias of Portugal took the first title of 2011, defeating Brazil’s Andre Ghem 6-3 6-4 in the final of the Bradesco Prime Cup in Sao Paulo.  It was a battle of unseeded players in the championship match, as Elias took out third-seeded Uladzimir Ignatik of Belarus 6-7(5) 6-1 6-1 and Ghem upset the sixth seed, Tsung-Hua Yang, 6-2 6-4 in the semifinals.  The win nets Gastao $1,950 in prizemoney, but more importantly adds 35 points to the 20-year-old’s ATP Ranking account, nearly doubling it (he had 36 points coming into the tournament), which will send his ranking from #604 to somewhere in the mid-400’s.

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