Alex de Minaur said he "just kind of knew he could do it" after saving three championship points to clinch the Washington Open title on Sunday.
De Minaur endured a topsy-turvy final against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina but dug deep to prevail 5-7 6-1 7-6 (7-3) in just over three hours.
The Australian fought back from an early break down in the first set but could not overcome a second loss of serve late on as Davidovich Fokina took the lead.
However, De Minaur wasted no time in the second set, racing into a 3-0 lead, before a second three-game winning streak saw him take the match to a decider.
He then went a break down again early in the third set, and though he pulled it back to 5-4 on the Spaniard's serve, he was put under pressure.
On serve, he was forced to save three championship points, and was millimetres from failing to do so on the third as a lob clipped the sideline, but he turned it around before racing through the tie-break to win his 10th singles title.
"It's something about this court. I did it in 2018 against Rublev, and honestly, I just kind of knew I could do it," De Minaur said. In 2018, he saved four match points against Andrey Rublev but lost the final to Alexander Zverev.
"I just backed myself, and I told myself to commit no matter what, and if I lost this match, it was going to be on my terms.
"It went my way. I've had a couple of brutal ones not go my way, so I'm glad this one went my way."
Davidovich Fokina had been chasing his first singles title, but once again failed to take his chances – he missed out on two championship points in Delray Beach in February against Miomir Kecmanovic before losing the Acapulco final to Tomas Machac in March.
"You're way too good to not have one of these [trophies]. It's coming for sure," De Minaur told him during the trophy ceremony.
"You deserved it [on Sunday]. I just got lucky. You are a hell of a competitor, a hell of a player. No one on the Tour wants to play you. This is not the end, this is only going up for you."
Data Debrief: De Minaur hits double digits
Since the inaugural ATP Tour season in 1990, De Minaur is the fourth Australian to claim 10+ tournament victories at ATP-level, along with Pat Rafter, Lleyton Hewitt and Mark Philippoussis.
He also stands in the top five total match wins this season, with this his 35th victory, while he is one of just four players to reach multiple finals this year (also Carlos Alcaraz, Rublev and Davidovich Fokina).
But he had to do it the hard way; he hit nice aces but also six double faults. He also defended five break points while converting four. But despite a rocky performance, he got over the line.
