For the second time in four weeks, Karolina Sprem's "Cinderella" run ended in the final.

Sixth seed Paola Suarez of Argentina held off the Croatian qualifier 7-6 (7-0) 2-6 6-4 on Saturday to win the Wien Energie Grand Prix.

Sprem was playing her second final in as many WTA Tour events as a qualifier. She burst onto the scene last month by reaching the championship match of the Strasbourg Open.

Sprem had not won a main draw match in a tour event before that showing. The 18-year-old had a strong chance of winning this event, but squandered a 5-1 lead in the first set.

"I don't know what happened there," she said. "Maybe I played too safe, waiting for her to make mistakes, rather than being aggressive. If I had won this set, I know I would have won the match."

Suarez said: "I knew she could not close it and I sensed she was very nervous, so I tried to be fully concentrated and I managed to save eight set points."

Sprem appeared to have turned things around by taking the second set easily.

"I stepped up my game in the second set and the third set was very close," she said. "We both played well and it was a matter of points. I also felt tired near the end, so I made a few unforced errors which cost me the match."

Sprem spent a total of 14 hours, 13 minutes on court this week. After winning three qualifying matches, she posted wins over third seed and outgoing champion Anna Pistolesi of Israel in the second round, seventh seed Denisa Chladkova of the Czech Republic in the quarter-finals and second-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva in the semis.

"Now I'll rest a few days and start practising on grass for Wimbledon," Sprem said. "I am very excited because I'll be playing my first grand slam and I won't have to play qualifier. I am in the main draw. I never played on grass before and there are no grass courts at home. Maybe I'll put a net on a soccer field."

Suarez was impressed with Sprem's game and attitude. "I think she is going to be a great player," the winner said.

"She is very strong mentally, really fast on the court and hits winners from both sides. She's really sweet too, so that's nice."

The 26-year-old Argentinian claimed her third career title, but had not triumphed since capturing the crown at Bogota for the second time in 2001. She was also pleased to win after a poor showing at last month's French Open dropped her ranking from number 31 to 51.

"I am very happy about this week," said Suarez. "I came here to do well and to try and regain some points after the French Open as it was my last tournament on clay, so I was really focused."