Phillip Petzschner on Sunday became the third qualifier to win an event on the ATP Tour this season after beating Gael Monfils in the final of the Bank Austria-Tennis tournament.
The German overcame the eighth-seeded Frenchman 6-4 6-4. He is the first qualifier to win the event since Belgian Filip Dewulf defeated Thomas Muster in 1995.
Petzschner follows in the footsteps of Japan's Kei Nishikori at Delray Beach and Frenchman Gilles Simon in Casablanca as the only players in 2008 to have qualified for an event and then won it.
Petzschner entered this event with just four victories on the Tour this year, but got off to a good start by upsetting Swiss top seed Stanislas Wawrinka in the first round.
Monfils, a semi-finalist this season at Roland Garros, Nottingham and Bangkok, was playing in the sixth final of his career and was seeking a second title after winning at Sopot in 1995.
The victory also moved Petzschner into the top 100 for the first time.
The German overcame the eighth-seeded Frenchman 6-4 6-4. He is the first qualifier to win the event since Belgian Filip Dewulf defeated Thomas Muster in 1995.
Petzschner follows in the footsteps of Japan's Kei Nishikori at Delray Beach and Frenchman Gilles Simon in Casablanca as the only players in 2008 to have qualified for an event and then won it.
Petzschner entered this event with just four victories on the Tour this year, but got off to a good start by upsetting Swiss top seed Stanislas Wawrinka in the first round.
Monfils, a semi-finalist this season at Roland Garros, Nottingham and Bangkok, was playing in the sixth final of his career and was seeking a second title after winning at Sopot in 1995.
The victory also moved Petzschner into the top 100 for the first time.
