Top seed Carlos Moya was forced to battle all the way before beating Filippo Volandri 6-4 3-6 7-5 to win the Croatia Open in Umag - his fourth victory in this tournament.

The Spaniard broke Volandri midway through the first set and, even though the Italian had a break point to level the match at 5-5, Moya took the first set on serve.

Volandri played much better in the second set as the pair exchanged breaks before the seventh seed's powerful shot from the baseline sealed a 6-4 win.

In the third set, Moya jumped to a quick 4-0 lead before Volandri battled back and served for the match at 5-4.

But Moya held firm and won the next three games to claim his fourth Umag title.

Moya said: "I never thought I was going to lose at any point, maybe that's why at 4-0 I relaxed a little bit and let him back in the match.

"At 5-4 I was thinking, this is the first time in his career he's been serving for a championship, so I was still confident and I think he made a few errors.

"It was a great match, he played well and I think we both played better than in our match at Roland Garros.

"He really impressed me with the way he played, if he can just improve his serve some he will be dangerous because he's so tough from the backcourt - but he gets no free points on his serve."

A disappointed Volandri added: "I thought I was dead there at 4-0 down in the third and I was just looking for something that you forget you have in you.

"I don't know where I got it from, the crowd maybe, but I kept going for the people that were clapping and for myself.

"I was a little tired and before the match I wasn't sure how much I'd be able to fight.

"I feel more satisfied than disappointed about the way I played."

The victory moves Moya up to sixth in the ATP Champions Race 2003.