Victoria Azarenka secured her second WTA Tour title of the year with victory over Maria Kirilenko in the Kremlin Cup final.
Second seed defeats Kirilenko in Kremlin Cup final
Victoria Azarenka secured her second WTA Tour title of the year with a straight-sets victory over Maria Kirilenko in the Kremlin Cup final.
Kirilenko had dropped only nine games in her four previous matches at the tournament but was overpowered by the second seed in Moscow on Sunday.
Azarenka broke Kirilenko's serve three times in the first set as a string of unforced errors cost the sixth seed dear.
However, the 23-year-old Russian hit back at the start of the second set, surging into a 4-0 lead and seeming almost certain to take the match into a decider.
But the Belarusian then came alive again, reeling off six consecutive games and eventually securing the title after Kirilenko had saved two match points.
"It was really tough to win the second set as Maria started pretty good, dominating the play completely," Azarenka said.
"I tried hard to stay in the match fighting for every point and it paid off ... I'm really happy to win here on my third attempt."
Azaranka, who won at Stanford earlier in the year, had already secured a spot in the upcoming WTA Championships in Doha by reaching the last eight of the Kremlin Cup.
She added: "It's a big boost to win ahead of Doha. The win gave me confidence and perfect fitness. I feel my rhythm and I'm ready to go and play there.
"It was really tough to win the second set as Maria started pretty good, dominating the play completely. I tried hard to stay in the match fighting for every point and it paid off - I'm really happy to win here on my third attempt."
