The popular Brazilian finally added a second crown to the one that gave him Grand Slam glory 14 months ago in Paris.

After losing the first set, `Guga' came back in the second and finally got the break-back he needed in the third on the way to victory in one hour 53 minutes.

The 21-year-old claimed a cheque for 157,000 dollars plus a Mercedes convertible. He and Slovakia's Kucera, 16th in the world, had never previously played each other.

Kucera, who denied Chilean Marcelo Rios the no 1 ranking with a semi-final upset, raced off at the start, reaching a 4-0 lead in rapid-fire order on the clay of the Weissenhof Club in 40 Celsius on-court temperature.