Tommy Haas clinched his third ATP title of the season with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory over Russia's Dmitry Tursunov at the Los Angeles Open on Sunday.
Outplayed in the opening set, the 28-year-old German fought back to preserve his unbeaten record against the Russian and win the hard court event for a second time in three years.
"It's an awesome feeling and the end of a great week for me," Haas told reporters after sealing victory in two hours and four minutes.
"At the end of the second set he (Tursunov) was going for it a little bit more, maybe thinking this would be his first title. But I kept telling myself to hold my serve and wait for opportunities.
"After I won the second set, I felt I had the momentum going into the third set."
Sixth seed Haas, who eased past Slovakia's Dominik Hrbaty in straight sets in the semi-finals, never looked back after breaking Tursunov for the first time in the 12th game of the second set.
After levelling the match, he broke the Russian again in the second game of the deciding set before serving out to clinch the 10th ATP title of his career.
Haas, who won hardcourt tournaments this year at Delray Beach and Memphis before suffering a wrist injury in April, fired down 12 aces to the Russian's 10 and converted two of his seven breakpoints.
POLISHED DISPLAY
The 23-year-old Tursunov delivered a polished display at the Los Angeles Tennis Centre in his first ATP final.
Dominating the early exchanges, he broke Haas in the fifth game after powering a backhand winner down the line and then served out to win the first set 6-4.
The second set also appeared to be going the Russian's way with his booming forehands forcing errors from an opponent not quite at his best.
However, Haas began to take a few chances and finally broke Tursunov for the first time. The Russian trailed 15-40 on his serve and hit a backhand long for Haas to level the match.
Fired by his unexpected fightback, Haas raised his level of play a notch or two. After again breaking Tursunov to lead 3-0 in the final set, he held serve to complete his 13th victory in his last 17 matches.
It was also his third win against the Russian in three career meetings, having beaten him in the Houston quarter-finals in 2004 and in the last eight at Memphis this year.
Haas was delighted to eclipse compatriots Boris Becker and Michael Stich by claiming two titles in Los Angeles, Becker having triumphed in 1994 and Stich the following year.
"Having my name up there with Becker and Stich is awesome," he said. "I don't know how many times Boris played here but my winning more times than him is great."
