Andre Agassi confirmed his remarkable return to form when he beat Australian Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 to win his first title in nine months at the Cincinnati Masters Series on Sunday.
The 34-year-old 11th seed's triumph over a fellow former number one was the Las Vegan's 59th career title and silenced the doubters who believed he was all but finished.
The victory was also the oldest by any player on the ATP tour since a 37-year-old Jimmy Connors won in Toulouse in 1989.
"Lleyton's more of a counter-puncher than me," an emotional Agassi said.
"He has faster wheels and absorbs pace better. He wanted to settled into using his legs and I didn't want to be too aggressive. It was cat and mouse and I made a few good decisions at the right time.
"It couldn't have come at a better time for me. I am overwhelmed. It's been a bit of a struggle for me this year. There's no way I can say what it means to me. It's amazing."
The early pattern of the match showed that while Hewitt had a little more speed of foot, Agassi was often able to produce sharper angles, and it was he who forced the only break of serve in the first set.
It was only the second time Hewitt had been broken in the tournament.
BOUNCED BACK
However, the 10th seeded Hewitt bounced back in the second set, forcing the eight-times Grand Slam winner into a series of errors to take the match into a deciding set.
Agassi shrugged off the loss of the second set and raced into a 4-1 lead in the third before withstanding another Hewitt fightback to break again in the eight game when the Australian double faulted on match point.
"I have shown here that if I let my game go I can give the guys a lot to deal with," said Agassi, who is missing the Athens Olympics to concentrate on the U.S. Open in three weeks time.
"I only wish the Open was next week."
The charismatic American had suffered a depressing run, raising speculation that he would soon call it a day after losing in the first round of the French Open, one of three consecutive opening-round defeats, and missing Wimbledon.
He was also knocked out in the second round of the Toronto Masters, just before Cincinnati, by Austria's Jurgen Melzer, ranked 62 in the world.
However, Agassi put in a series of confident performances at this event, beating fourth seed Carlos Moya and defending champion Andy Roddick, the world number two, on his way to the title.
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