Defending champion Andre Agassi earned a record sixth Miami tournament title when he overcame Carlos Moya, the former world number one from Spain, by 6-3 6-3 in the Nasdaq-100 Open final on Sunday.

It completed a startling performance by Agassi, one month before his 33rd birthday, during 10 days which often experienced record temperatures, and with a shoulder problem which nearly caused him to withdraw.

Agassi's 70-minute triumph enabled him to surpass the achievement of his wife Steffi Graf, who won five titles here and to smile about the fact that she won almost 50 titles more than he has.

"It makes a change to do something better than she did," he grinned after picking up his third successive Nasdaq-100 crown.

"Everything went well for me, so I was pretty fortunate."

The day before Agassi wisecracked that if he reached six titles he would allow Graf, who won 22 Grand Slam titles, to bring home the five that she had won.

"She can put them wherever she wants - now," he quipped.

There was only briefly any doubt that Agassi would do it. He was break point down in his second service game but saved it with a forcing first serve, and after that got immediately on top.

He broke for 3-1 when Moya gambled with a sliced approach and a drop shot which floated too deep, Agassi made the pass with a flat forehand cross court and the retrieve with a deep drive which set up a successful net attack.

It was an advantage he held throughout the set, which he finished with an ace.

Moya was only once able to make much impression on the Agassi delivery in the second set, but it occurred after he had already again gone a break down.

That happened in the seventh game, when Agassi had an inspired spell of ground strokes, finding the line with a forehand faded drive, guessing cleverly to move the right way to make a pass, and taking one backhand cross court outrageously early to hit a winner.

Moya got Agassi to 15-40 in the following game and had he converted it may have offered enough encouragement for him to change the character of the contest. But an ace and a great first serve averted the danger for the champion.

The disappointment seemed to affect Moya. In his next service game he was again struggling, and when Agassi reached match point with an audacious drop shot, it proved to be the gentle killer.

"I feel great about how I feel mentally and physically and I hope everything stays together - whereas two weeks ago I wasn't even sure I would play here so it's a welcome surprise," Agassi said.

"I certainly find myself relieved and I can't believe it. But you go out there knowing that if you keep your head down and make your shots, it can go for you. So I try not to assess until after the fact."

It was all the more remarkable because, unlike his opponent who had had a rest day, Agassi had had to face three high-class opponents in three days.

Moya proved when he won the Masters Series title in Cincinnati in August that he has learnt to adapt his clay court expertise to the faster, higher bounce of hard courts.

But on this occasion he disappointed himself.

"I cannot say I played awful, but not at the level I have been playing lately," he said.

"You have to serve at 120 miles an hour and in the right spot against him or the ball is coming back faster. I had to serve well and I didn't. I don't know why that was. Maybe it was because we played the final in the morning."