Wickmayer upsets Pennetta to claim Auckland title

Belgium's Yanina Wickmayer upset top seed Flavia Pennetta 6-3, 6-2 in the final of the Auckland Classic on Saturday to complete a remarkable return to the courts after having a doping ban overturned.

Wickmayer, granted a wild card for the event after a court overturned a one-year ban imposed when she fell foul of the Belgian doping authority's "whereabouts rule", overpowered the Italian with a powerful serve and blistering groundstrokes.

The 20-year-old made an inauspicious start when she double faulted on the first service point of the match but fought back from a 1-3 deficit in the first set and broke the 12th ranked Pennetta twice to go 1-0 up in 39 minutes.

She retained her momentum, despite a slight blip when she was broken in her first service game of the second set, to win the final five games of the match, clinching victory when a Pennetta forehand went into the net.