It's the sixth career title for Nicolas Almagro.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BASTAD, Sweden -- Fourth-seeded Nicolas Almagro of Spain beat defending champion Robin Soderling 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 to win the clay-court Swedish Open final and claim his first title of the year Sunday.

The 20th-ranked Almagro earned his sixth career title.

After losing the opening set, the top-seeded Soderling recovered to break Almagro early in the second and establish a 3-1 lead.

The fifth-ranked Swede clinched that set to force a third, but Almagro broke the two-time French Open finalist twice in a row to ease to victory.

Almagro said the win was a "big moment" for him.

"Robin is a great player. Here in Bastad he's like a hero," Almagro said, adding he had prepared for the match by trying to imagine how Soderling would play.

"I tried to be him. I was thinking about the match all night and this morning, and finally I can beat him and I'm very happy," he said.

The 24-year-old Almagro, a clay-court specialist, also beat Soderling when the pair last met, winning in straight sets in Madrid in May.