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Eastbourne - Feliciano Lopez defied chilly, blustery conditions to capture his first career grass court title at the Aegon International in Eastbourne on Saturday.
Lopez, a three-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist, beat French second seed Gilles Simon 7-6 (7/2), 6-7 (5/7), 6-0 in a dress rehearsal of their Wimbledon first-round clash next week.
The Spaniard now owns three titles, his third coming nine years after his first.
He won with 16 aces and forced Simon to save 17 of the 21 break points he faced.
"It's funny to play the same guy in three days," said Lopez, 31.
"But this is tennis, and sometimes these things can happen. I can take feedback from that into Tuesday. I'm very happy to win my third title. It's a great feeling -- good for me, for my game, for my confidence for the rest of the year."
Simon was playing in his 14th final (10-4) and has won at least one trophy each season since 2007.
The Frenchman, who was limping at the start of the week, was surprised to have gone all the way to the final.
"It was horrible for me - I had everything. I was so sick. I twisted my ankle. I felt terrible on the court in the first match, but I'm just happy that I managed to get through at all."
