Second seed Lisa Raymond saved five match points in the third-set tiebreaker to beat fourth seed Alexandra Stevenson in the final of the Kroger St Jude in Memphis.

Raymond prevailed 4-6 6-3 7-6 (11/9) in the all-American women's final to collect her third career WTA title.

In the deciding tie-break, Raymond took the opening two points but Stevenson responded, taking six of the next seven points to give her three match points.

"I haven't played a match like that since college," Raymond said. "The fans and the atmosphere on the court was incredible."

After saving her fourth match point, Raymond served for the title at 9-8, but Stevenson levelled once again.

Raymond, who used her serve-and-volley game to great effect in the final two sets, punched a winner at the net to make it 10-9 and after two hours four minutes Stevenson committed another unforced error to give Raymond the title.

"I'm happy I got to the final. Of course, I would have rather won the match, but I'm going to take it in my stride," Stevenson said.

"It was a great feeling out there. The fans were loud and it was electric. I'm glad we gave them a good show. I was just unlucky today."