OEIRAS, Portugal: Carla Suarez Navarro made it third time lucky at the Portugal Open on Saturday, finally lifting the title after losing the last two finals The Spanish top seed beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in two hours, 10 minutes for her first career trophy after finishing on the losing side in her first five finals.

“I’m very happy that I’ve finally won a title,” said the champion, “I was nervous today, it’s not easy playing here.

“Ön match point I was only thinking about putting the ball in. It felt really good when it was all over. This was a very special day for me, my most special moment so far.” Sanchez Navarro came from 1-4 down in the final set when it looked like two-time Grand Slam winner Kuznetsova from Russia finally had the fluctuating match under control.

But Carlos Navarro, who had lost three of her previous four matches against the 29th-ranked Kuznetsova, refused to give up.

Kuznetsova, the seventh seed, dropped serve in the sixth and eighth games and went down to the loss on the first of two match points for her Spanish opponent.

The 15th-ranked Suarez Navarro leapt in the air in delight and rushed to bear-hug her coaching team in the stands.

“The most important thing was to play solid all the time,” said Suarez Navarro. “That was not easy as we were both making mistakes.

“We both wanted to win this final, it was a close match all the way through. She played better than me at the start but I finished better at the end.” Kuznetsova commented: “It was a tough match and I’m disappointed that I could not hold on at the end.

“But I did better than I had expected this week, there is still time for me to get even more prepared for Roland Garros.” The Spaniard was playing this week after recovering from a wrist inflammation, which forced her to abandon a match last week in Stuttgart.

Berdych in final

Top seed Tomas Berdych lived up to his billing on Saturday with a 6-2, 6-2 hammering of Romanian Victor Hanescu, which took the Czech into the final of the Portugal Open.

Berdych, playing on a wild card, will compete in his third final of the season after Rotterdam and Dubai when he faces the winner from Argentine Carlos Berlocq and Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain.

“The first step is there, I’m in the final,” said the winner. “Now it would be really great to win this title.

“It’s always a pleasure to be competing at the end of a week. Every final counts and I’m really looking forward to this one.” Berdych needed just 72 minutes to defeat Hanescu in a match which he made it all look easy after struggling in the previous round.

The top seed won with five aces and four breaks of serve in a straightforward effort which put him into a 22nd career final.

The victory also gives Berdych a 2-0 lead in the series after defeating Hanescu in the Wimbledon second round six years ago.

The loss denied Hanescu his 200th career victory on the ATP.

“I finally found the way I want to play,” said Berdych. “This is how I want to prepare on the clay.

“I need (tough) days like yesterday to work through, it’s important to fight out of tough situations. That’s why I’m here. I want to improve my clay game this week and I’m managing to put my game together.” Berdych, who lost early in Monte Carlo, dominated in the opening set, sweeping it in half an hour. He moved out to 3-0 in the second, with Hanescu ending a streak of three broken service games to hold for 1-3.

But world number six Berdych kept up the pressure, firing an ace for a 5-2 lead and breaking his opponent a game later to complete the win.

The Czech improved to 24-5 on the season. He spent 2013 as the only member of the top 10 not to win a title but lifted the Rotterdam trophy in February, his first title in 16 months.

He is playing Portugal for the first time since 2005, when he lost in the opening round as a teenager.

Fognini to meet qualifier Klizan

In Munich, top seed Fabio Fognini brought German qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff crashing down to earth with a 6-3, 6-1 victory on Saturday that sent him through to the Munich Open final where he will meet another qualifier in Martin Klizan.

Slovak Klizan outclassed defending champion Tommy Haas, back from a six-week injury break, in straight sets to keep his sensational run alive.

Clay court specialist Fognini, the world number 15, gave Struff no chance on a cool spring day in Munich.

“I did exactly what I had to do,” the Italian, chasing his second title of the year, told reporters. “I did exactly what my coach told me. I do not know if it is Struff’s first semi-final but he did it well here this week.” Klizan, ranked 111, was equally dominant against Haas in his 6-3 6-2 win, booking his second career final after beating Fognini in the St. Petersburg decider in 2012.

He had also beaten seeds Mikhail Youzhny and Denis Istomin in earlier rounds.

“That was a very bitter day for me,” said the 36-year-old Haas, with his shoulder injury flaring up again and slowing down his serve considerably. “I am very disappointed because I had played good tennis in the previous days.”