A method for timing phase recovery including the steps of first, estimating an open-eye sequence of a received signal, second, estimating a channel response using the open-eye sequence, and third, correlating the estimated channel response with an ideal channel response to determine the peak correlation location. The peak correlation location corresponds to the recovered timing phase. A system including means for estimating an open-eye sequence of a received signal, a channel estimator and a correlator is also provided. The channel estimator is used for estimating a channel response using the open-eye sequence and the received signal. The correlator is used for correlating the estimated channel response with an ideal channel response to determine the peak correlation location, the peak correlation location corresponding to the recovered timing phase.