KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP)—Mikhail Youzhny won his second title of the season with a 6-7 (7), 6-2, 7-6 (3) victory over Andrey Golubev in the Malaysian Open final on Sunday.
The fourth-seeded Russian, who also won the BMW Open in May, needed 2 1/2 hours to beat the eighth-seeded Golubev.
Youzhny took a 6-3 lead in the first-set tiebreaker, but Golubev used booming serves and strong backhands to win four straight points.
Youzhny got even 7-7 with a passing shot down the line, but fell behind after going for a drop shot at the net that Golubev picked up with a backhand return winner. Golubev then converted his second set point.
The second set was one-sided for Youzhny as Golubev made several unforced errors.
Both players held serve in the final set, but Golubev cracked first in the tiebreaker and sent a return into the net to give Youzhny a 4-3 lead.
The ninth-ranked Youzhny then held serve to give him three match points. He won the title on his first chance after Golubev sent a 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 eliminated Robin Soderling and David Ferrer to reach the final, described the tiebreakers as “a bit of a lottery.”
The 41st-ranked Golubev has never beaten Youzhny in four meetings.
Youzhny returned to the top 10 for the first time in 2 1/2 years after reaching the semifinals last month at the U.S. Open, where he lost to eventual champion Rafael Nadal.