Robin Soderling, the top seed, underlined his credentials as an Australian Open contender by overpowering Andy Roddick 6-3, 7-5 to win the Brisbane International yesterday.
The world No 5, who had not dropped a set all week, matched Roddick's fearsome service game and unleashed his deadly forehand from the back of the court to win his seventh professional title.
The 26-year-old stayed calm as Roddick, the defending champion, raged through a delay while rainwater that had got under the roof was cleared from the court and the Swede sealed his triumph with a 16th ace after an hour and a half.
"I've never really played well in Australia before and now finally I won a tournament playing really good tennis. It gives me a lot of confidence for Melbourne," Soderling said.
In yesterday's other tournament final, Stanislas Wawrinka beat Xavier Malisse 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 to win the Chennai Open title that eluded him 12 months ago.
Beaten by Marin Cilic in last year's final, Switzerland's Wawrinka made amends by getting the better of Malisse, who had won the event in 2007.
"It was really a tough match and I would say I was a bit lucky," Wawrinka, who was third seed, said. "It's really nice to be back here and win."