The Frenchman sealed a 3-1 (11-4, 11-5, 8-11, 11-6) triumph over Australia’s Cameron Pilley in a memorable campaign at Dubai’s Burj Park where he remained undefeated.

World No2 Gaultier only needed to look at his opponent’s sensational semi-final victory over top-ranked Mohamed El Shorbagy on Friday to see that underdog Pilley would be no easy task.

But the 33-year-old started off brightly losing just nine games as he raced to a 2-0 lead. However, Pilley never gave up and reduced the deficit to ensure the match went into a fourth game.

Gaultier led 6-2, and while Pilley tried his best to get back into the tie, the two-time British Open winner was always in control and wrapped up victory in 67 minutes.

It was his first success since returning from an ankle injury at JP Morgan Tournament of Champions that kept him out of action for two months in January.

And the 33-year-old insists his latest piece of silverware was a reward for all the hard work after his injury “nightmare”.

“It’s been frustrating but you just have to accept what happens in life and deal with the present moment,” said the 33-year-old, who was joined by his son on court after the final point.

“Sometimes you’re not 100 per cent but if you play some good squash and get some wins, anything is possible. It’s been a nightmare and being at home is not easy. It’s not even a rest, because you’re not playing squash at all and doing a lot of recovery and gym work.”

He joins Scotland’s Peter Nicol as a three-time winner of this tournament and is one short of Pakistan’s Jansher Khan.

“I’m not chasing anyone’s record. I’m not Djokovic or Nadal. I’m just doing the best I can. I don’t want to prove anything. I just want to enjoy the moment,” he said.

He paid tribute to Pilley, who defeated three top-six seeds to reach yesterday’s final.

“I had a great start and suddenly he played amazing,” he said. “I lost the third game but I was a little shaky and played too many short shots. In some parts of the game, he was better than me. But then I found my rhythm back and I could see he was tired.”

Making his first appearance in the end-of-season finale, Pilley admitted he could’ve changed his strategy but said the best man won.

“The way I played in the third game was very encouraging,” said the 33-year-old. “I would’ve liked to have done that in the second game.

“I managed to find the balance in the last two games but overall, he just outplayed me.”