Moya with the crown in Chennai on Sunday

Chennai: Like the proverbial Phoenix, Carlos Moya rose from the ashes to turn the Chennai Open final on its head. Like the Titanic, Paradorn Srichaphan sank after a memorable cruise not very far from the shore.

Yen-Hsun Lu and Rainer Schuettler pulled off a sensational coup by winning the doubles crown at the expense of top seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Jonas Bjorkman. In a match of many ups and downs, the first-time Chinese Taipei-German combination staved off a match point to win 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4) in two hours and 50 mins.

As a Srichaphan service return sailed over the baseline after two hours and 32 minutes of pulsating drama, Moya clenched his fists in delight and relief. Delight because the 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) verdict had helped him kick off the year on a great note. Relief, since he had got out of jail.

With the second-seeded Thai serving for the match at 5-2, Moya only seemed to have a couple of minutes more to ?live?. By fighting back from two breaks down in the final set of a championship match, Moya only enhanced his reputation of being a truly great champion. In doing so, he became the first man to successfully defend the Chennai title.

Srichaphan, playing his fourth straight final at this wonderful venue, dominated Moya for the better part of the match only to run out of gas at the crunch. In the last six games, the Thai could barely stand on court as he looked dehydrated and deflated.

One piece of statistic reflects the story of the match: Srichaphan won 107 points in the final and Moya 100. The Thai was better off even on the winners and errors count.

It was a tribute to Moya?s fitness and will-power. He played anything but a great match but hang on grimly in the hope of an opening. An exhausted Srichaphan provided him just that and the Spaniard was in no mood to be magnanimous.

In many ways, it was a carbon copy of the 2004 final. Both matches went down to the wire, and it needed 12-point tie-breakers to break the deadlock. There was one major difference, though. If last year?s showdown was an epic, this was no more than a classic.

There were errors galore from Moya in the first two sets, while Srichaphan matched him in the third. In between, of course, the capacity crowd of 5,800 got its money?s worth as the two engaged in some breathtaking rallies.

Srichaphan, looking for his sixth title in 10 career finals, came out firing on all cylinders. Serving consistently at over 200 kmph and mixing the occasional one-handed backhander with trademark forehand winners, the Thai took the first set on a single break of serve ? in the eighth game.

Moya, who by his own admission had been a trifle too error-prone in the previous rounds, saved a break-point in game 4 before succumbing in the eighth. A double-fault ? Moya came up with quite a few at inopportune moments ? pushed him to 30-40. Srichaphan, sensing his chance, put in his return and charged the net. Moya, going for a down-the-line winner, pushed it wide.

Srichaphan made the early breakthrough in set 2 as well. Again, Moya got into crisis with a double-fault and followed it with a faulty backhand slice.

Moya, slowly picking up his rhythm-based game no doubt egged on by a vocal and appreciative audience, got back on even terms by capturing the Thai?s serve for the first time, in game 4.

The two traded two more service breaks before Moya wrapped up the set after a marathon game 10. On break-point, the Spaniard slapped an amazing flat inside-out forehand which evoked no response. The final set followed the same pattern with Srichaphan completely outclassing the 1998 French Open from the back of the court. Moya lost serve in games 1 and 7 to stare at defeat. Then, the unthinkable happened.

Srichaphan, serving for the match twice (at 5-2 and 5-4), was denied on both occasions by a rejuvenated Moya who sensed that his opponent was struggling with his energy level. The Spaniard missed one match-point in the 12th game and three more in the tie-breaker before sealing his 18th title in 36 finals.

Moya had never turned a final around after trailing 2-5 in the final set. ?I was lucky to win, it was some kind of a miracle. He controlled the match from the beginning, I had no chance in the early stages. Then I broke him in the second set and started playing better,? said Moya who dominated his entire prize-money of $52,000 to the tsunami victims.

Srichaphan tried to put up a brave front. ?I had many chances but couldn?t take them. But I?ll take the positives. It was a great match and a great tournament for me,? said the Thai who has now lost all three encounters versus Moya and three of his four finals in Chennai.