Andrey Golubev became the first player from Kazakhstan to win an ATP World Tour title today as he swept past Jurgen Melzer in straight sets to claim the German Open crown.
Melzer had not dropped a set all tournament and, in the form of his career, was favourite to claim a third career title against an opponent who is 67 places below him in the rankings.
However, the world number 15 had no answer as Golubev, who had also not dropped a set all week and beaten top seed Nikolay Davydenko en route to the final, cruised to a 6-3 7-5 victory in one and a half hours.
The 23-year-old broke Melzer in the eighth game of the first set and, after the Austrian had missed a crucial chance to break back at 3-2 up in the second, Golubev broke again in the 11th game before serving out for the match in only his second ever final.
Golubev, currently ranked number 82 in the world, will break into the top 50 for the first time in his career tomorrow.
