Safin retains title

Safin recovered from a slow start to clinch victory

Defending champion Marat Safin beat Rainer Schuettler in three sets to retain his St Petersburg Open crown.

The Russian's 3-6 6-3 6-3 victory keeps alive his hopes of qualifying for the season-ending Masters Cup event in Sydney.

A relieved Safin said: "Rainer played very well and it was really tough to win today.

"But I promised the tournament's boss to defend my title and had no other choice."

Safin broke the German in the opening game of the match but Schuettler dominated the rest of the first set, finishing it off in 34 minutes with an easy forehand down the line.

Doubles appearance

The tables were reversed in the second set as Safin overcame his sluggish start 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.

A decisive break in the third game of the final set gave Safin a 2-1 lead as Schuettler miss-hit an easy forehand.

The third seed sealed victory with his first match-point, breaking his opponent in the ninth game after the German hit a backhand into the net.

Safin and his partner Irakli Labadze of Georgia will play in the tournament's doubles final against Russian pair Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Denis Golovanov later on Sunday.