Ukraine's Stakhovsky wins St Petersburg Open

ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) - Ukrainian qualifier Sergiy Stakhovsky recovered from a slow start to edge out eighth-seeded Argentine Horacio Zeballos 2-6 7-6 7-6 in a see-saw St Petersburg Open final on Sunday and clinch his second ATP title.

Zeballos, playing in his first ATP final, led 3-0 in the second-set tiebreaker but allowed 93rd-ranked Stakhovsky to reel off six straight points, winning it 10-8 to level the match.

Stakhovsky, whose first title came last year in Zagreb, broke for a 4-3 lead in the third set and had a match point in the ninth game but Zeballos held before breaking back.

In the deciding tiebreak, both players held match points before the 23-year-old Kiev native finally sealed victory 9-7.

"I must say I was a bit lucky today because my opponent played better than me," Stakhovsky told a news conference.

"I was also getting tired in the second set as I had to play eight matches, including three qualifiers, here," added the Ukrainian, who beat former world number one Marat Safin in the semi-finals on Saturday.

"Yesterday's match took a lot out of myself, but somehow today I was able to find enough energy in key moments."

Zeballos was satisfied with his performance in St Petersburg.

"Overall, I can't be too disappointed because here I reached my first (ATP) final," said the 24-year-old from Buenos Aires.

"In the final I had my chances. I had a lot of break points, but he played really well on key points."

(Reporting by Boris Khodorovsky; writing by Gennady Fyodorov; Editing by Ed Osmond)