Youzhny whips Lacko for Zagreb title

Zagreb, Croatia – Russian Mikhail Youzhny cruised past Slovakian Lukas Lacko in straight sets in Sunday's final at the Zagreb Indoors tennis event.

The third-seeded world No. 39 Youzhny doused the unseeded Lacko 6-2, 6-3 in 69 minutes on the indoor hardcourt at Dom Sportova. Youzhny broke Lacko on three occasions and held his serve throughout on Day 7, as the 29-year-old Russian is now 4-0 lifetime against the 24-year-old Slovak.

"This was my best match of the tournament," Youzhny said. "I gained some confidence here but I don't want to think about whether I will be in the top 10 again or not."

Youzhny improved to 8-10 in his career finals. He hadn't won a championship of any kind since 2010.

The 97th-ranked Lacko was appearing in his first-ever ATP-level final and said that he was "dismissed badly."

Youzhny collected $90,000 for his first championship in 16 months.