Defending champion Marat Safin overcame a slow start to end unseeded Rainer Schuettler's fine run at the St Petersburg Open with a 3-6 6-3 6-3 victory in the final today.
Safin broke the German in the opening game but Schuettler dominated the rest of the first set, finishing it off in 34 minutes with an easy forehand down the line.
The third-seeded Russian reversed the tables in the second set to level the match at one-all. It was the first time in the tournament that Schuettler, who beat top seed Juan Carlos Ferrero in the first round and giant-killer Max Mirnyi in the quarter-finals, had dropped a set.
Safin scored a decisive break in the third game of the final set for a two-one lead as the German mis-hit an easy forehand.
The Russian clinched the match on his first opportunity, breaking Schuettler in the ninth game after the German hit a backhand into the net.