MOSCOW, Oct 13: Unheralded Igor Kunitsyn upset former world No 1 Marat Safin 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 in an all-Russian Kremlin Cup final to clinch his maiden title on Sunday.

Earlier, world No 1 Jelena Jankovic overpowered Vera Zvonareva 6-2 6-4 in the women’s final to win her third title in a row.

The 71st-ranked Kunitsyn, playing in his first ATP final, earned a decisive break in the sixth game of the final set, then held his nerve to seal victory with an ace down the middle.

“This is beyond my wildest dreams,” Kunitsyn told reporters.

“I’d never have expected to beat Marat in the final in Moscow,” added the 27-year-old from Vladivostok, who took home $171,000 in winnings to more than double his earnings for the year.

Safin, seeded seventh and bidding to claim his first title in almost four years, reached the final without hitting a ball when his semi-final opponent, German Mischa Zverev, withdrew with illness on Saturday.

The big Russian has not tasted success since winning the Australian Open in January 2005.

“I have only myself to blame,” said Safin, who also lost to compatriot Nikolay Davydenko in the 2006 final in Moscow. “If I had won the first set, it would have been a different story but he gained confidence as the match went on, played well in the end and deserved his victory.”

Jankovic, making her debut in Moscow, broke Zvonareva twice to take the first set in just over half an hour.

The in-form Serbian, who also beat the Russian on her way to winning titles in Stuttgart and Beijing in the past two weeks, led 4-2 in the second but allowed the seventh seed to break back to level at 4-4.

The top seed, however, earned another break in the ninth game before going on to clinch victory after 81 minutes when Zvonareva overhit her forehand on matchpoint.

Jankovic pocketed $196,900 for her efforts. The 23-year-old has been playing almost non-stop in the last couple of months and must keep going for another week before taking a well-deserved rest.

“I’ve worked really hard in the last three weeks, winning three titles in a row. It’s not easy,” she told reporters.

Zvonareva, who reached her first Kremlin Cup final on her eighth appearance in Moscow, said she could do little to stop Jankovic.

“It seems she had an answer for everything I tried,” the 24-year-old Muscovite told a news conference.

VIENNA: German qualifier and world No 125 Philipp Petzschner completed a remarkable week’s tennis on Sunday when he beat French eighth seed Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-4 in the Vienna Open final.

Petzschner, 24, put in a disciplined performance as former junior world No 1 Monfils blew his temper and his chances of ending a four-year wait for his second ATP title.

The French world No 28 allowed himself to get distracted by some adverse line calls after double faulting in the fifth game of the match.

Continuing to argue with umpire Fergus Murphy over the first service call, Monfils told the Irishman he would “bet my car” the ball was in. Visibly rattled, he dropped his serve a few points later.

The 22-year-old steadied his nerves and rediscovered his trademark athleticism to break back to 4-4 but the recovery proved short-lived.

Two unforced errors either side of a forehand winner from his German opponent saw Monfils fall behind once again, with Petzschner serving out to love to clinch the first set.

Petzschner then dominated the second set. Never troubled on his own serve, he took Monfils to three break points – successfully converting the last of them to take a 5-4 lead before again serving out comfortably for his first ATP title.—Reuters