Mikhail Youzhny won his second title of the season after defeating Andrey Golubev of Kazahkstan 6-7 (7), 6-2, 7-6 (3) in the Malaysian Open final on Sunday.
The fourth-seeded Russian, who also won the BMW Open in May, took 2 1/2 hours to beat eighth-seeded Golubev.
Youzhny took a 6-3 lead in the first-set tiebreaker but Golubev used his booming serves and strong backhands to win four straight points.
Youzhny levelled at 7-7 with a passing shot down the line but trailed 8-7 after going for a drop at the net which Golubev picked up with a backhand return past Youzhny. Golubev then converted his second set point to take the first set.
The second set was one-way traffic as Golubev made several unforced errors.
Both players held serve in the decider but Golubev cracked first in the tiebreaker, sending a return into the net to give Youzhny a 4-3 lead.
The ninth-ranked Youzhny then held both his serves for three set points, winning the title on the first chance after Golubev sent his return long and wide.
“We both had equal chances to win the first set but he took his chance well,” Youzhny said. “I was fired up for the second set and came out firing. In the third, it was quite close but I’m delighted to have won the title here as this is the first time I have two titles in one year.”
Golubev, who earlier eliminated Robin Soderling and David Ferrer to reach the final, described the tiebreakers as “a bit of a lottery.”
Keywords: Malaysian Open