SYDNEY: Former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis capitalised on a poor tiebreaker from Frenchman Richard Gasquet to claim the Sydney International ATP title here on Saturday.

The 42nd-ranked Cypriot won a rain-interrupted final 6-4, 7-6 (7/2) in one hour 43 minutes to capture his fourth career title just days out from the Australian Open in Melbourne.

Baghdatis broke Gasquet’s opening service game and went on to

take the first set in 45 minutes before rain suspended play during the first game of the second set.

After a 90-minute delay, Gasquet broke Baghdatis’ serve for the only time in the fourth game, when the Cypriot double-faulted on break point and led 5-3. But he had a shaky service game in the ninth when he went down three break points and Baghdatis broke back and levelled and took the set to a tiebreaker.

Gasquet got the first mini-break in the tiebreaker to lead 2-0 but Baghdatis reeled off the next seven points to take the set and the championship. Gasquet served two double-faults and made two forehand errors to virtually hand the set and the match to Baghdatis. Although Gasquet thrilled the crowd with signature one-handed backhand, he succumbed to ill-opportune errors at crucial times during the second set to lose the initiative.

Kooyong Classic

MELBOURNE: Spain’s Fernando Verdasco completed a perfect preparation for the Australian Open by defeating Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-5, 6-3 to win the Kooyong Classic. Verdasco, who made a breakthrough at Melbourne Park a year ago when he took Rafael Nadal to a five-set marathon semi-final, spent 84 minutes in taming Tsonga, the 2008 Australian Open finalist.

Heineken Open

AUCKLAND: Towering American John Isner clinched his first ATP title on Saturday, firing a barrage of aces to clinch a nailbiting victory over Frenchman Arnaud Clement in the final of the Heineken Open. The 24-year-old hit 22 aces but his high unforced error rate kept the ice-cool Frenchman in contention for the Auckland title until Isner grabbed the advantage in the third set tie-breaker for a 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7/2) victory.

The title win in only his second ATP world tour final capped a year when the 206 centimetre (six foot nine inch) Isner climbed more than 100 places in the world rankings to 33 at the start of the week. Clement had little answer in the first set to Isner’s booming serve and powerful ground strokes, which had earlier accounted for seventh seed Juan Monaco and top seed Tommy Robredo.