Serbian second seed Jelena Jankovic battled through brisk winds to defeat Russian fourth seed Dinara Safina 6-2, 6-2 in the final of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston.
Calling them the toughest conditions she had ever played in, Jankovic rose to 28-8 this season and will jump from ninth to seventh in the WTA rankings after capturing the $196,900 top prize at the $1.34million event.
'It was really tough. It was really windy. Balls were flying all over the place,' Jankovic said. 'I was just trying to put as many balls in the court as I could. We were both fighting. I'm really happy.'
Despite the high winds, Jankovic missed only one first serve in the first set, surrendering her serve once but breaking Safina three times to dominate.
Safina, who fell to 20-8 for the season, took a 2-0 lead in the second set when Jankovic netted a backhand volley to surrender a break in the second game.
But Jankovic did not lose another game, breaking Safina three times and holding in the final game when Safina mishit a forehand on the Serbian's second match point.
Jankovic had struggled here previously, unable to move past the second round in four prior appearances.
