Russian Mikhail Youzhny claimed his second title of the year as he upset world No.3 David Ferrer 6-3 7-5 on Sunday to win the Valencia Open.
Ferrer was aiming for his fourth title in his home region, but was far from his stubborn best as Youzhny’s power and depth of groundstrokes proved too much for the top seed.
“I can only thank my team for helping me get to this part of the season and being able to win a tournament,” said Youzhny.
“It has been a great week for me and I hope I can keep playing in the same way to finish the year in Paris next week.”
However, there was disappointment for Ferrer, who had come through an awkward draw to beat Gael Monfils, Jerzy Janowicz and Nicolas Almagro only to fall at the final hurdle.
“It wasn’t the best final for me and even more so at home,” said Ferrer.
“I tried my best, it wasn’t to be but I really enjoyed my week and the support of the crowd and my team was great.”
Youzhny made a flying start as he raced to a 5-1 lead in the first set.
Ferrer responded to claim one of the breaks of serve back, but Youzhny held on to serve it out 6-3.
It was roles reversed at the beginning of the second as Ferrer went 4-1 ahead as Youzhny’s level dipped slightly.
However, the world No.21 regained his composure and rattled off six of the next seven games to seal his 10th career title.