Philipp Kohlschreiber gave local fans at the BMW Open something to cheer about as he rallied for a 2-6 6-3 6-4 victory over Mikhail Youzhny in his first career ATP final.

With the win, the unseeded Kohlschreiber became the first German to win the BMW Open since Michael Stich in 1994. He was also the first German to play in the final of the claycourt tournament since Rainer Schuettler in 2002.

The third-seeded Youzhny was in his third final of the season. The Russian posted his third career title in Rotterdam in February and lost to Roger Federer in the final in Dubai the following week.

Kohlschreiber denied Youzhny his second title of the season by finishing an impressive run.

The 23-year-old German ended the tournament by knocking out three of the top five seeds, number five Jarkko Nieminen in the second round, fourth seed Marcos Baghdatis in the semis and Youzhny.

Kohlschreiber took an early 2-0 lead before Youzhny responded by winning the next six games. The German posted an early break and held on to win the second set and a break in the fifth game of the third set was all he needed to complete the comeback victory.

The match, which lasted just over two hours, was tightly contested as both players won 86 points and converted three of eight break points.

Youzhny can take some consolation out of his performance here as he teamed up with Kohlschreiber after their singles encounter to post a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Czechs Jan Hajek and Jaroslav Levinsky in the doubles final.