MOSCOW: Igor Kunitsyn won his first ATP Tour title by upsetting fellow Russian Marat Safin.

Jankovic beat Russia’s Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-4, while Kunitsyn survived seventh-seeded Safin’s 21 aces to win 7-6 (6), 6-7 (4),6-3. The 23-year-old Serb was coming off back-to-back titles at the China Open and the Porsche Grand Prix in Germany.

The 71st-ranked Kunitsyn was playing in his first ever ATP Tour final. Safin, who hasn’t won a title since beating Lleyton Hewitt in the final of the Australian Open in January 2005 for his 15th, was playing in his first final since losing to Nikolay Davydenko here in 2006.

Kunitsyn said he had prepared a speech to congratulate Safin on the win. “I was hoping to win a couple of games and that’s it,” Kunitsyn said.

“I still don’t know how I was able to out-play Marat, but I guess it happens. I still don’t understand how I won,” he added.

Kunitsyn was in control of the match and constantly kept Safin on the baseline. He prevailed in a first-set tie-breaker when Safin made two unforced errors and broke his racket in frustration.

Safin won five consecutive points on a second-set tie-breaker to stay in the match. In the third set, Kunitsyn made a decisive break in the sixth game and served out the match at love, closing it with an ace.