Fernando Vicente had to save two match points before claiming his XL Bermuda Open crown at Coral Beach yesterday in a climactic finish to an enthralling week of tennis.

But the Spanish former world number 29 needed a big helping hand from number two seed Gilles Muller ? and some assistance from the chair umpire ? to claim the $14,400 first prize.

Muller looked the stronger player throughout but there was an element of self-destruction in the defeat ? his fifth three-set match of the tournament.

In winning 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (3), Vicente ? who then proceeded to throw his trophy into a cab before dashing off to the airport ? was often on the back foot against his more powerful opponent. But Muller?s inability to maintain composure despite leads of 3-0 and 5-3 in the final set ultimately decided the destination of the 2006 trophy.

There were times when he appeared to lose his head, although he had complete justification at 15-15, 5-3, when he expected a point violation to be called against the eventual winner.

Vicente, who had received his first violation for hitting the ball onto South Road in the second set, bounced the ball into the ground and over the fence after losing the point. But the expected point violation never came, Muller lost his composure and then ultimately the match.

?I am not the sort of player to ask for a free point,? said Muller, who angrily confronted the umpire after the match. ?But I am mad because the umpire did not do his job. I am mad because when you hit the ball out of the court, you get a violation and he had already had a warning for doing the same thing.

?But I am also mad because that is not why I lost the game, I made mistakes at the wrong time.

?I can?t be too upset because I got to the final without playing my best tennis.?

His best tennis is what Muller ? who has claimed the scalps of Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick and Andre Agassi ? offered in the opener.

Hitting Philippoussis-like groundstrokes, banging down aces and even indulging in a little serve and volley, the giant from Luxembourg broke the Spaniard twice in claiming the opener 6-2 in just over 32 minutes.

The crowd were not yet warmed up with the crowing of a nearby rooster creating the noisiest reaction from the full house. Vicente, however, was heating up and came out firing on all cylinders in the second, breaking Muller to love in the opener and racing to a 5-2 lead, courtesy of another break without the younger player getting a point on serve.

The combination of Muller taking his foot off the pedal and making more mistakes, and the flamboyant Vicente pulling off some delicious drops and cross-court volleys contributed to the change in momentum. In 27 minutes it was 6-2 and a decider was on the cards.

Over the next 58 minutes, Muller and Vicente slugged it out with the ascendancy shifting regularly ? mostly because Muller was either hitting winners or making errors ? and the crowd became more boisterous as the Amstel Lights flowed and the match?s tension built.

Muller raced to 3-0 but was then pegged back. He pushed on again to 5-3 before his disagreement with the umpire once again upset his mood.

Vicente, on the other hand, was looking increasingly relaxed, joking with the crowd and clowning around in between points. He was at Muller?s mercy, however, with the big man at the net with an easy smash already 30-15 up but Muller found only the net.

Vicente then pulled off two wonder shots in the following game to come back from match points at 15-40, the first an incredible backhand get, the second an unplayable drop with the Spaniard delicately massaging the ball over the net with stupendous bravery.

Once the tiebreak was reached, Vicente appeared to be the favourite and despite Muller opening with an ace, the older player romped to a 7-3 win ? the trophy being won after Muller framed a backhand into the corporate boxes.

?I was a little nervous in the first and at the start of the third,? said Vicente rapidly before dashing off in the direction of St. David?s. ?But I played hard and I am happy to have come back. It is nice to win here.?