The American Andy Roddick recovered from a second set slump to win the Brisbane tennis International title with a 7-6 7-6 victory over the defending champion, the Czech Republic's Radek Stepanek.
The top seed, playing his first tournament since a knee injury cut short his 2009 season, won the opening set in a tiebreak after all games had gone with serve.
He was on course to race through the second after opening up a 5-1 lead, but twice failed to serve out the match then wasted five match points in the tiebreak before finally sealing victory.
Roddick's hard-earned win provided the world number seven with his 28th career title and his first success at senior level in Australia, although he won the Australian Open junior title in 2000.
This year's Australian Open starts in Melbourne on January 18th.