The Ecuadorian second seed defeated Fernando Vicente 7-5 6-4 to win the claycourt tournament in St Poelten.

Lapentti was down 2-5 in the first set and had to save three set points but reeled off five games in a row.

The second set was more straightforward with Lapentti breaking his Spanish opponent at 4-4 and then serving out to take the title.

He takes home a �33,500 first prize and, more importantly, adds 35 points to his ATP Champion's Race tally.

After the match, Lapentti admitted that he had not thought he could win when he arrived in Austria.

"I was not expecting to win here, I've had a rotten season on clay courts," he admitted.

"I just wanted to play a few matches before the French Open."

It was Lapentti's fifth victory on the ATP tour and his second in Austria circuit in two years.

He won the Kitzbuehel Generali Open clay court tournament last year.