Juan Monaco of Argentina survived a battle with France’s Julien Benneteau to win the Malaysian Open in a three-hour battle Sunday.
In the longest match of this year’s tournament, Monaco eventually outplayed seventh seed Benneteau 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in Kuala Lumpur.
World No. 11 Monaco, the second seed, captured his first hard-court title after previously winning six career finals on clay, three of them this season.
Benneteau, who bundled out top seed David Ferrer of Spain 6-4, 6-1 in the semifinal, is yet to clinch his first singles title as he tasted defeat in a final for the seventh time.
In the doubles final, third seeds Alexander Peya of Austria and Bruno Soares of Brazil won their first doubles title together earlier on Sunday.
The duo, which finished runners up at the Swedish Open in July, upset British top seeds Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins 5-7, 7-5, 10-7.
Peya had previously won two titles with his compatriot Oliver Marach, while Soares claimed his seventh doubles trophy.
The prize fund for the tournament is $850,000.
