Jessica Pegula saved five match points as she fought from 4-1 down in the final set to win the Berlin grass court WTA tournament, 6-7 (0-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) over Anna Kalinskaya on Sunday.
Pegula won the last five points as she prevailed after 2 hours 38 minutes of classy tennis in what was the first grass court final for both players which featured many twists.
The fifth-ranked American failed to serve out the first set at 5-3 as Australian Open semi-finalist Kalinskaya fought back and wet a set up with a perfect tie-break.
Pegula levelled the sets and rallied from 4-1 down to 4-4 in the decider. She wasted four break points in the next game, then saved four match points to hold for 5-5, and another one in the 12th game to force the tie-break she won from 3-2 down.
It was the fifth career title for Pegula who had missed the clay season with a rib injury.
Pegula had earlier needed to play just five points to complete a rain-delayed 7-5, 7-6 (7-2) semi-final victory over fellow-American top seed Coco Gauff.
Play was suspended for the night due to rain on Saturday, with Pegula leading 7-5, 6-6 (3-1), and she allowed Gauff no way back into the match.
Berlin was one of the tune-up events for Wimbledon which starts on July 1.
