Britain’s Jack Draper missed out on the first ATP Tour title of his career as opponent Jiri Lehecka fought back to win 4-6 6-4 6-3 in the Adelaide final.
Draper, 22, started impressively in a quality contest but paid the price for a dip at the end of the second set.
Finely balanced at 4-4, Draper lost the next five games as Lehecka levelled the match and moved 3-0 up in the decider.
The 22-year-old Czech saved three break points from 40-0 down for 4-1 and then served out to win his maiden ATP title.
Draper cut a frustrated figure in the deciding set, expressing his annoyance by shouting underneath a towel at one changeover and receiving a warning for hitting the ball out of the court after Lehecka held serve in the fifth game.
Nevertheless, Draper will take plenty of positives as he travels to Melbourne for the Australian Open.
“This is why I train and work hard, hopefully I can play in many more big finals like this,” said the British number four, who will move up to 55th in the world after this performance.