Serbia's Ana Ivanovic trounced former world number one Martina Hingis 6-2, 6-3 in the rain-delayed Montreal Cup final on Monday to capture her first Tier 1 title.
The 13th-seeded Ivanovic set the tone by breaking Hingis's serve in the first game and never looked back. She also broke the Swiss in the fifth game before wrapping up the set.
"From the first game I let her know I was going to be aggressive," Ivanovic said. "It was important to stay calm and just play some good tennis.
"I'm just happy to do it right now and I'm really, really happy and excited."
In the second set, Ivanovic recorded a key break in the seventh game and closed out the match in 58 minutes when Hingis dropped her serve again in the final game.
The 18-year-old Ivanovic's only other final appearance was when she won the low-key Tier IV event in Canberra, Australia in early 2005.
"I just knew what I had to do to beat her," Ivanovic, who moved to 17th in the world rankings with the victory, said. "I just had to play my game."
"I just want to try and keep the same level now and see how far I can go."
Hingis, champion in Canada in 1999 and 2000, was contesting her third final since making her comeback at the beginning of the season following a three-year hiatus.
Her sole success this year was in Rome in the run-up to the French Open.
TOO FAST
The Swiss had never played Ivanovic competitively but as the two had practised together, Hingis was not surprised by her strong play.
"I knew she'd play very well," Hingis said. "She was very consistent today, very steady. She was just too good.
"Everything was happening a little too fast."
Hingis moved back into the top 10 in the rankings with her performance in Montreal.
But she acknowledged she still had plenty to do if she hoped to challenge the top players.
"There are certainly some things I have to work on before the US Open," she said.
The tournament was plagued throughout by no-shows, withdrawals and injuries, with rain then forcing postponement of Sunday's scheduled final until Monday. Saturday's second semi-final was also suspended by rain.
In the doubles, Martina Navratilova geared up for her final appearance at the US Open by picking up her second doubles title of the year.
The 49-year-old teamed with Russia's Nadia Petrova to defeat Cara Black of Zimbabwe and German Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-1, 6-2.
Navratilova will retire after the US Open in New York.
"I have more wrinkles than titles," Navratilova told reporters when asked why she was retiring. "It's time."
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