''It's definitely not the way I wanted to win it,'' Cilic said. ''The match was still open, but I can't change it. I'm sorry for the (spectators) that it had to end like this.

''We had some good rallies, and it's hard to see the final end like this.''

Nalbandian was playing his first final on grass since losing to Lleyton Hewitt at Wimbledon 10 years ago. He was bidding to become the first player from Argentina to capture an ATP grass court title since Javier Frana won at Nottingham in 1995.

Nalbandian's last title came in Washington in August 2010.

''We have a sold-out crowd. It's packed. We were watching some great tennis so to have the match end this way is incredibly disappointing,'' Kermode said. ''In sport, these things happen. There's not a lot we can do about it. We are under the governorship of ATP rules and that's how it stands. It's a great crowd, great final. You'd like to think you can bend it, but I can see from their point of view it's difficult.''