Victor Estrella Burgos continued his love affair with the Ecuador Open by beating Paolo Lorenzi in a dramatic final to claim a third consecutive title in Quito.

There was a sense of deja vu on Sunday when Estrella Burgos saved a match point before defeating the third seed Lorenzi 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 7-6 (8-6) to start his clay court season in style yet again.

Estrella Burgos won the inaugural Ecuador Open in 2015 and the veteran retained his title for the second time to take his record in this tournament to 15 victories and no defeats.

The 36-year-old from the Dominican Republic is set to rise from 156th to inside the top 100 in the world rankings after becoming the only player in ATP World Tour history to win at least three titles in one event and none elsewhere.

Estrella Burgos converted all three of his break points, which he earned as he fought back from 4-2 down in the second set to take a tense showdown to a decider.

The unseeded defending champion fended off a match point in a final-set tie-break to maintain his dominance and deny the 46th-ranked Lorenzi, who fired down 17 aces, a second ATP singles title.