MUNICH (AP) Philipp Kohlschreiber defeated Dominic Thiem of Austria 7-6 (7), 4-6, 7-6 (4) to win his third BMW Open title on Sunday.
Kohlschreiber, whose previous victories at his home tournament came in 2007 and 2012, converted his third match point to beat the third-seeded Thiem in 2 hours, 32 minutes.
The 32-year-old German player was made to work hard for his seventh career title, converting four of his 10 break opportunities while Thiem won five of his seven opportunities on the clay court.
Thiem battled back from 5-2 down to 5-5 in the final set when Kohlschreiber failed to convert two match points.
''It was an exciting and for me a painful final,'' Thiem said.
The Austrian, who has more wins (29) than anyone else on tour this year, had been bidding for his third title of the season.
''Dominic, you will still win this tournament,'' Kohlschreiber said to the 22-year-old.
The fourth-seeded Kohlschreiber had not lost a set on his way to the final. He saw off Italy's Fabio Fognini 6-1, 6-4 in his semifinal Saturday.
''There's little to complain about. I myself am a little surprised by the convincing results this week,'' Kohlschreiber said after his 14th final.