American Andy Roddick held off a magnificent fightback from Radek Stepanek to claim a thrilling 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (9/7) victory in the final of the Brisbane International on Sunday.
Stepanek saved six match points in the second set tiebreak but couldn't save a seventh and when he served a double fault at 7-8, Roddick claimed the first title of the year.
Roddick seemed to be headed for a straightforward victory when he won the first set and led 5-1 in the second.
But in a match reminiscent of the women's final on Saturday when Justine Henin came back from an almost identical position against Kim Clijsters, Stepanek stormed back against an increasingly agitated Roddick.
Stepanek won five straight games to lead 6-5 but once the set went to 6-6, tiebreak specialist Roddick had the advantage.
The American raced to a 6-1 lead before Stepanek came again, winning the next five points to make it 6-6.
However, the huge effort on a stiflingly hot Brisbane day seemed to take its toll on the 31-year-old Czech as his tired looking second serve sailed just over the service line.
The title is the 28th of Roddick's career and his first in Australia.
The win also put an end to Stepanek's nine match winning streak in Brisbane, which included taking the inaugural title at the Queensland Tennis Centre in 2009.
