OSAKA (JAPAN) - Big-serving Australian Samantha Stosur retained a title for the first time in her career Sunday with a resounding 7-6, 6-3 victory over Zarina Diyas in the Japan Women's Open final.
Samantha Stosur hits a return against Zarina Diyas at the Japan Women's Open in Osaka, western Japan on October 12, 2014
Top seed Stosur, who has struggled to hit the heights since winning the US Open and reaching a career-high fourth in the world in 2011, was pushed hard in the first set by the fifth-seeded Kazakh, taking it on a tiebreak 9-7.
But Stosur, currently ranked 18th in the world, found her range in the second set to capture her third Japan crown and a sixth singles title on the WTA Tour without dropping a set all week.
Stosur, a French Open finalist in 2010, broke a title drought stretching back to July last year in Carlsbad, California. The 30-year-old also reached the semi-finals in Beijing last week where she was beaten by Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.