Qualifier wins Munich tennis

The Slovakian qualifier ranked 111 in the world, recovered from losing the first set to claim a 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 over Italy's Fabio Fognini, ranked 13 in the world.

Klizan lost the first set before taking a 4-1 lead in the second. He dominated the third to go 3-0 up before Fognini pulled two games back, but the Slovakian held his service to take the title in just under 90 minutes.

The Slovakian had lost his last three meetings with Fognini but he had defeated the Italian in his only previous final, at St. Petersburg in October 2012.

The clay-court match had few highlights as Klizan had to call for medical treatment in the first set, suffering from abdominal pains. He continued to complain at each change-over. In the third set, Fognini also had to be treated for a similar complaint.

"I felt very bad and took two tablets because of stomach cramps after the first set," Klizan said. "That was a crazy game from both of us."

"Hopefully he's doing better now than he was during the match," Fognini said in comments reported by news agency dpa afterwards. Asked if he thought Klizan had put on a show to throw him off, the Italian replied, "I think so. Let's see how many matches he's won in this manner at the end of the year."

jm/bk (AFP, AP)