Stuttgart - Top-seeded Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia won his first title of the year by beating Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 in a rain-delayed Mercedes Cup final Sunday.
Tipsarevic was the only top-10 player not to have won a tournament this year. The Serb is No. 8 in the world.
The second-seeded Monaco was seeking his third title of the year.
Tipsarevic surrendered a 4-1 lead in the second set after a brief rain delay and he also dropped his serve after a longer, 20-minute interruption in the third. He then won the next two games on Monaco's serve to capture his first title on clay.
"I really still don't believe I won the tournament," Tipsarevic said. "But I kept fighting until the end."
The Serb was in full control of the second set after winning seven straight games, wasting a break point that could have given him a 5-0 lead.
With the score 4-1 in his favour, Tipsarevic insisted on stopping play after a few drops of rain.
The players never left the court but when play resumed after a few minutes, Monaco was a different player. He won the next 12 of 13 points, including all eight on Tipsarevic's serve.
The Argentine completed his comeback by breaking serve to win the second set on tiebreak.
Tipsarevic broke serve first in the third but another downpour sent the players to the locker room for 20 minutes, with the Serb down 30-0 on his serve.
When they returned, Tipsarevic again dropped his serve at love. He then broke back immediately, and took the match after Monaco sent a forehand into the net on Tipsarevic's second match point.