Serena Williams overpowered the quick-thinking Patty Schnyder in the final of the WTA Tier II Bangalore Open on Sunday to capture her first title of the year.
The third seeded American, playing her first tournament since her loss to Jelena Jankovic in the quarter-final of the Australian Open, deflated Schnyder 7-5, 6-3 in an hour and 23 minutes.
"It defnitely feels good, coming to India for the first time and winning the title," said Williams. "About a couple of weeks ago I wasn't sure about my fitness. My trainer has really worked hard on me, but regardless, I am just happy to win this tournament."
The angrier Williams gets, the harder she hits the ball. After an error induced by Schnyder's deep forehand, the American banged the racquet into the ground and also picked up a code violation for it. 15-40 down in the fifth game, Williams slammed in four big serves, which the Swiss miss could barely touch.
Schynder's tactics of rolling the ball deep on the forehand didn't quite work against Williams. The players tried to impart as much spin on the ball and the high bounce on the surface meant the players were taking the ball almost at the shoulder level. The shots got deeper and heavier till one of them errred and surrendered the point.
World no.12 Schnyder made two forehand errors to lose her serve in the sixth game.
In the seventh, Williams went down 30-40 when a bad line call kept the ball in play and the American, trying to refocus, hit the ball long.
Schnyder hit a great passing shot on the next to break back immediately.
She lost a close 12th game, where she saved two break points, before Williams prevailed to take the set 7-5 in 50 minutes.
The second set saw a flurry of early breaks. The players were unable to hold serve for the first three games, before Schnyder won a tight fourth game to take a 3-1 lead.
But the Swiss inexplicably lost control of the game and wasn't able to get the first serves in to put any pressure on Williams. Schnyder wilted under the growing number of errors and the Williams barrage, losing the next five games in a hurry to give Williams her first title since the 2007 Miami Open last year.
"Serena was too strong," said Schnyder. "I tired my best but somehow lost it in the second set. I don't know the reasons yet, though I was playing well I couldn't sustain the energy level in the second. Also, I think they changed the balls, so I couldn't control the shots and served some double faults.
"Serena is a great opponent. She kept her focus throughout the match; it is tough to play at that level all the time. I kept fighting, the forehand was on and I thought the first set could've gone either way.
"She served her way out of trouble, but I think after 3-1 up in the second set my performance was not good in the end."