Nicolas Almagro successfully defended his title at the Open de Tenis Comunidad Valenciana on Sunday by outlasting unseeded Potito Starace of Italy.

In improving to 10-1 in his career at the event, the third-seeded Spaniard rallied for a 4-6 6-2 6-1 triumph over Starace, who was appearing in his first ATP Tour final.

Almagro fired eight aces and converted five of his 10 break points in a match that lasted one hour and 37 minutes.

It marked Almagro's second win over Starace this year after he beat him in the second round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami last month.

Since losing his first-round match here in 2004, the 21-year-old Almagro has reeled off 10 straight wins, including victory over Gilles Simon in the final last year.

Almagro, who is ranked 31st in the world, improved to 14-8 this year.

Prior to this week, Starace's best showings in an ATP event were two semi-final appearances.