Top-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva dispatched of third-seeded Belarusian Victoria Azarenka to win the $145,000 Prague Open on Sunday.
Zvonareva, who zipped past fourth-seeded Slovenian Katarina Srebotnik in the semis, won a hard-fought opening set and then cruised in the second frame for a 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 triumph on the red clay at this French Open tune-up.
"It was a tough match," said Zvonareva. "She is a tough young player and it was really close, especially the first set. We both had our chances in that set but I was able to pull it out. It felt great to get through such a tough match."
The Russian picked up her sixth WTA title and improved to 3-0 all-time versus Azarenka, who is still looking for her first crown after dropping her fourth career final.
Zvonareva pocketed $22,900 with the win.
"This was my first tournament on red clay in two years and I won it, so I'm pretty excited right now," Zvonareva added. "I'm just looking forward to continuing to try my best in the coming weeks."
