Russian Mikhail Youzhny won the Malaysian Open men's singles title here on Sunday, rallying from a set down to beat Kazakh Andrey Golubev 6-7 (7), 6-2, 7-6 (3).

The Russian lost a the tie-breaker in the first set, but rallied to beat his 41st-ranked opponent in a battle lasting more than two-and-a-half hours.

"It was a really tough match, a very close match," said Youzhny. "I should have won the first set. When you lead 6-3 in the tie-break indoors usually you should take the set."

The win is a boost for fourth seed Youzhny, the world number nine, who is bidding for one of eight places at the ATP World Tour Finals in London. It is his seventh career title and second of 2010.