British number one Elena Baltacha defeated American Carly Gullickson 6-2 6-2 to secure the AEGON Trophy in Nottingham.
British number one gets grass-court season off to a flyer
British number one Elena Baltacha defeated American Carly Gullickson 6-2 6-2 to secure the AEGON Trophy in Nottingham.
The 26-year-old, who was defeated in the first round of the French Open, got her grass-court season off to the best possible start.
It is Baltacha's 10th success at ITF level and will provide a confidence boost ahead of the upcoming AEGON Classic in Birmingham.
"I knew Carly would be a bit of trouble," she said.
"I've lost to her once before so I knew I had to take her really seriously and I played well enough today.
Talent
"Carly has got such good hands and she's so talented - I can see why she does well on grass because she's got a great serve, she constantly keeps mixing it up and she doesn't give anything away on her serve.
"For grass it's such a good tactic and I knew I'd have to overpower her. I did that today and it stopped her playing her own game."
Baltacha, who is currently ranked 63rd in the world, has secured the 12th seed for the AEGON Classic and is set to face a qualifier in her first-round match.
She added: "I came into the event thinking: 'Just treat this as a warm-up for Birmingham' but then I ended up winning four matches in three days and I made the final so it feels amazing.
"This gives me a lot of confidence.
"I came here thinking I'd get around two matches and that would have been good prep going into Birmingham but I couldn't have asked for a better start to the grass-court season.
"I'm now really looking forward to Birmingham and Eastbourne and then Wimbledon."
