Philipp Kohlschreiber showed scant regard for Juan Carlos Ferrero's fight back up the tennis rankings when he beat the former world No. 1 in straight sets to win the Auckland Open yesterday.
Kohlschreiber took the first set on a tiebreaker (7/4) and then converted his first match point to take the title 7-6, 7-5 in under two hours.
It was the 24-year-old German's second ATP title after he won in Munich last year, while former US Open winner Ferrero was looking for a 12th title, but his first since 2003 in an injury-marred career.
Kohlschreiber came into the Auckland tournament ranked 31st in the world, to Ferrero's current ranking of 24, but the seventh seed looked confident throughout.
He said the win put him in the right frame of mind going into next week's Australian Open.
"It's a good feeling when you have to fight hard for the title," Kohlschreiber said. "It's nice to be on the Tour collecting titles and I hope to take the confidence into Melbourne. I hope I can play the same type of tennis there."
Fourth-ranked Ferrero was looking to become the second Spaniard in as many years to claim the Auckland Open. Despite failing to do that, he remained confident.
"It was a very close final that was probably decided by three or four points," he said. "I am disappointed because I wanted to win the tournament, but it's a good start to the year and I will arrive in Melbourne with confidence."
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