Luca Van Assche battled his way to the first ATP Tour-level title of his career after he beat Alexander Blockx in Sunday's Estoril Open final. 

Van Assche, who stunned top seed Andrey Rublev on his way to the showpiece match, needed two hours and 24 minutes to seal a 6-4 4-6 7-5 victory in Portugal. 

Both players struggled on serve in the early exchanges of the first set, with five consecutive breaks opening the match before Van Assche was able to hold in the sixth game. 

From there, Van Assche held firm and took the lead heading into the second set, quickly racing into a 2-0 lead after getting the better of Blockx's serve again. 

However, the Belgian regained his composure and reeled off the next five games, and even with a late break from Van Assche, he was able to take the match to a decider.

The theme of the match continued in the third set as Van Assche surged 3-0 in front, only for Blockx to close the gap with a break of his own to go within one game of levelling. 

Van Assche missed two opportunities to get the better of his opponent's serve in the seventh game, and Blockx made the most of his reprieve to cancel out the advantage and set the score at 5-5. 

But the Frenchman responded with a break of his own in the following game before sealing the title on serve at the first time of asking. 

Van Assche flies the flag for France

In what was the first ATP Tour final between two players born in 2004 or later, Van Assche was able to get himself over the line to land the first piece of silverware of his career. 

His triumph saw him become the 10th first-time tour-level champion this year, joining the most recent winner and compatriot, Quentin Halys, who beat Alexander Bublik to win the Austrian Open crown in Kitzbuhel. 

The 22-year-old is also the ninth player born in 2004 or later to win a tour-level trophy, with fellow countryman Arthur Fils leading the way with four crowns.

Van Assche is also the first Frenchman to win the Estoril Open since the inaugural edition of the competition back in 2015, when Richard Gasquet beat Nick Kyrgios in straight sets. He will now move up to a career-high of 48 in the ATP rankings.