Nadia Petrova finally got the better of Francesca Schiavone in the final of the Bausch and Lomb Championships.
The top seed from Russia, Petrova had been 0-4 against the third-seeded Italian until her 6-4 6-4 win yesterday.
"Hopefully, I'll get more and more titles this year," Petrova told reporters.
"I really wasn't thinking I would get far this week."
Petrova broke her opponent in the first game of each set, and benefited from Schiavone committing five double faults in the match.
Schiavone, 25, is now 0-7 in finals during her nine-year career, as she once again came up just short of winning a title.
The Russian fired four aces and her booming serve kept the Italian off balance in most rallies. She held serve throughout the first set, but made two unforced errors after leading 2-0 in the second set to allow Schiavone to get back into the match.
But the Russian's powerful serve took over again, and two-double faults by Schiavone allowed Petrova to retake the lead 4-3 in the second set, setting the stage for the win.
It was Petrova's 23rd victory of the season, tying Amelie Mauresmo for the most on the WTA Tour.
