American Jan-Michael Gambill captured the Citrix Tennis Championships crown at Delray Beach in Florida for his first ATP title of the year.

Gambill, who had to save three match-points in both his quarter-final and semi-final, defeated Xavier Malisse of Belgium 7-5 6-4.

It was the second singles title for the 23-year-old who collected the first prize of US46,000 dollars. He will move into the top 20 of the ATP Champions Race 2001 when the new rankings are released on Monday.

Gambill, the fourth seed, had a walkover in the second-round match when Britain's Greg Rusedski withdrew due to back spasms.