Julien Boutter overcame a Moroccan hero and a heavily partisan crowd to capture the Grand Prix Hassan II claycourt event on Sunday.

The unseeded Frenchman upset top seed and defending champion Younes El Aynaoui 6-2 2-6 6-1 in the final to win his first career title and the first prize of £40,000.

Before this week, Boutter had not won an ATP match in nine months since his first-round win in Stuttgart last year.

But the 29-year-old likes playing in Morocco, where he is 8-1 over the past two years.

Boutter, playing on the professional circuit since 1996, found success in his second career final.

He lost the championship match at Milan in 2001 to Roger Federer.

After this spectacular triumph, he should move into the top 100 when the new rankings come out on Monday.

El Aynaoui was handed his first loss in 10 matches at this event in the past two years.

He had won seven three-setters before Sunday's defeat, which stopped him from becoming the first repeat champion here since Argentine Guillermo Perez-Roldan won consecutive crowns here in 1992 and 1993.

After losing the first set, the 31-year-old El Aynaoui levelled the match by taking the second.

But his momentum was halted when the third set was delayed by rain and he dropped to 3-2 lifetime against Boutter.

"Physically, I don't think he was at his peak fitness, that's what I was telling myself during the match," said Boutter of his opponent.

"The rain delay helped me a lot, to think about the match a little and get my head straight.

"I was happy that I was leading from the start, it helped keep the atmosphere from getting out of control. It was the only way to keep the crowd quiet from the beginning."

There was no doubt that Boutter was stunned to be involved in the final.

He added: "If you told me at the beginning of the week that I would finish by playing Younes El Aynaoui in the final, in front of the crowd, in a tough match, with good tactics that I played this week, I would not have believed it."