Former world number two Tommy Haas denied Xavier Malisse a second straight Delray Beach ATP title on Sunday, edging the Belgian in three sets in the final of the $380 000 hard-court event.
Haas, the fourth seed from Germany, triumphed 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), to claim his eighth career title and his first since 2004.
With the win, the 27-year-old Haas improved to 11-2 in 2006. His only two defeats this year have come at the hands of Swiss world number one Roger Federer, in the semifinals at Doha and the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Haas didn’t have to worry about facing Federer here, with the Swiss superstar not entered in a field led by United States veteran Andre Agassi.
Agassi was seeded first as he returned to action after a nagging ankle injury that kept him out of the Australian Open, but fell in the quarterfinals to Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
Garcia-Lopez was beaten in the semifinals by Malisse, who had been hoping to become just the third player to defend a title here successfully.
Malisse was playing in his second final of the year, after a runner-up finish in Adelaide in January. — Sapa-AFP