Frenchman Gael Monfils won his first title of the year with a 7-5 3-6 6-2 victory over Finland's Jarkko Nieminen in the final of the Stockholm Open.
Third defeat in Stockholm Open final for Nieminen
Frenchman Gael Monfils won his first title of the year with a 7-5 3-6 6-2 victory over Finland's Jarkko Nieminen in the final of the Stockholm Open.
His hard-fought victory kept world number 10 Monfils in the hunt for a place in the season-ending ATP World Finals in London.
Nieminen saved three match points before driving a forehand wide to lose the contest in just under two hours.
The 30-year-old Finn - ranked number 73 - was playing in his third Stockholm final. He lost there 10 years ago to Sjeng Schalken and in 2006 to James Blake, whom he beat in Saturday's semi-finals.
Monfils had been the only member of the world's top 15 without a title in 2011 until this victory - a repeat of his win over Nieminen in Bangkok three weeks ago.
The win is the 25-year-old Monfils' fourth title on the ATP tour but he admitted he was surprised to win his first tournament since picking up a knee injury.
"After Bangkok I haven't practiced that much, mostly been in rehab for my knee," he said. "The key today was that I managed to keep up my concentration."
