American Venus Williams made short work of surprise finalist Virginie Razzano to win the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Sixth seed Williams, who beat sister Serena to secure her place in the final, started slowly against her unheralded opponent but found her stride to claim a 6-4 6-2 win.
Frenchwoman Razzano, ranked 58th in the world, was out of the blocks quickly and Williams was forced to save three break points early on as she struggled on serve.
But she clung on and the match went with serve until the 10th game, when the American pounced on the first chance she received, breaking to take the set.
Williams was on top now and broke immediately in the second set to take the early advantage.
She continued to punish the Razzano serve as she broke again for 3-0 and that proved to be all the cushion she heeded.
The players exchanged breaks but it was too late for Razzano as Williams claimed her 40th career singles title.
The Wimbledon champion will now return to the world's top five for the first time since August 2003.
