Serena wins first Cincinnati title

Serena Williams has tuned up for the US Open by claiming her maiden Cincinnati title with a comfortable 6-4 6-1 victory over Ana Ivanovic.

Serena Williams has won her first Cincinnati title at the sixth attempt with a convincing 6-4 6-1 victory over Ana Ivanovic, just a week out from the defence of her US Open crown.

World No.1 Williams, 32, now has 62 career titles after claiming nine of the last ten games on Sunday to earn victory in just over an hour against Ivanovic.

Williams has won both of her summer hardcourt events played in the United States, taking the Stanford title last month.

She reached the semi-finals in Toronto, losing to her sister Venus.

The American finished with a love game against Ivanovic, who will now return to a top 10 ranking for the first time in five years.

Williams took advantage of her scheduling good luck after playing the afternoon semi-final on Saturday, while Ivanovic had to work for nearly three hours the night before to score a fighting victory over Maria Sharapova.

"It's amazing to finally be able to win today," said Williams, who won with a dozen aces and four breaks of her Serbian opponent who beat her last January in the Australian Open.

"I'm so excited, it's been a great week. Ana was hitting really hard and getting a lot of winners."

Williams was broken early to trail 3-1, her only real danger in the brief match.

The top seed levelled with a love game for 3-3 and won the opening set from back-to-back Ivanovic double-faults.

The American found another gear in the second set, taking a 1-0 lead and breaking her tiring opponent twice more along the way to insure an easy victory.

Ivanovic and Williams were both playing their WTA-leading fifth finals of 2014. Williams now owns five titles while Ivanovic has three.

"Today I got a serving lesson from Serena," Ivanovic said. "It was still a great match even if I lost.

"I've rejoined the top 10 but rankings don't really matter. It's all about competing on court and enjoying it.

"I'm looking forward to the US Open, it's the last Grand Slam of the season and the most exciting one. I'm looking forward to trying to do well."

Williams now stands 38-6 on the season and has not lost in any of her five finals.


Share

3 min read

Published

Updated


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world