Julia Goerges says she was able to exploit an emotional Coco Vandeweghe to steamroll the American in Sunday's WTA Elite Trophy final.
The German, who will rise to No.14 in the world thanks to the season-ending victory, was able to weather an early storm from Vandeweghe to canter home 7-5 6-1 in China.
The writing looked to be on the wall with Goerges trailing 2-5 in the first set, Vandeweghe in the same imperious form that saw her dismiss Australia's Ashleigh Barty in Saturday's semi-final.
But a loose service game at 5-3 allowed Goerges back into the match and she didn't need a second invitation.
Goerges, who only qualified for the tournament by winning Moscow's Kremlin Cup two weeks ago, won seven straight games to snatch the set and establish an early break in the second.
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A shaken Vandeweghe never recovered, with a dismissive off-forehand return winner handing Goerges the crown in 80 minutes.
"She's very emotional in some parts, in positive and negative parts, but I was just waiting for my chance to get back into that first set," the champion said of world No.10 Vandeweghe.
"She struggled for a few games ... and in the second, yeah, I felt I got a little bit more in control of her and her emotions."
The Zhuhai round robin tournament featured the next-best 12 players who did not qualify for Singapore's eight-person WTA Finals, with Goerges collecting about $900,000.
Barty, who progressed in a tough group to feature in the final four, is set to rise from a career-high 20 to 17 ahead of Australia's summer of tennis.
Vandeweghe, coached by Australian Pat Cash, will now head to Belarus to lead the United States in the Fed Cup final.
