Sunday 24 July 2016 23:18, UK
Gael Monfils saved a match point en route to beating Ivo Karlovic in Washington to claim his first ATP Tour title in almost 30 months.
The 29-year-old Frenchman appeared to be down and out at the Citi Open, where he snatched victory from the jaws of defeat to secure a thrilling 5-7 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 triumph in two hours and 15 minutes.
Not only did his big-serving opponent serve for the contest at 5-4 in the second set, the veteran Croatian also held a match point in the subsequent tie-break.
But Monfils kept his nerve to secure the sixth ATP Tour title of his career, and first since winning on home soil in Montpellier in February 2014.
The opening set went to Karlovic who made the only break in game 11. But the match turned the way of Monfils towards the end of the second set when he broke his opponent's serve for the first time and then survived a tense tie-break.
The first 13 points of the tie-break were won by the server and included a match point for Karlovic at 6-5, only for Monfils to level matters at one-set all by winning three points in a row.
In the decider, Monfils pounced on Karlovic by breaking serve in game three and holding on for victory.
Monfils conceded just six points from his five service games in the third set and denied Karlovic a second ATP title in eight days.
Last week, the 37-year-old giant won on grass at Newport, Rhode Island, but came up short on the hard courts of the US capital.
A delighted winner said: "This tournament means a lot to me. When I first came here I saw the champion names - Arthur Ashe, Yannick Noah - and they have been inspirations for me.
"I'm very proud and very happy to have my name next to them." Going into Sunday's title decider, Monfils had lost eight of his most recent nine finals.
