Heather Watson became the first British woman in 30 years to win a second WTA title with a 6-3 6-4 victory over qualifier Madison Brengle in the Hobart International final.
The 22-year-old won the tournament without dropping a set, overcoming a nervous start on another windy day at the Domain Tennis Centre to close out victory in 89 minutes.
Watson, who won her first tour title in Osaka in 2012, is the first British two-time WTA champion since Anne Hobbs followed her Indianapolis triumph in 1983 with victory in Auckland in 1985.
She is also the 22nd different Hobart International champion – no player has won the event twice.
“It’s all coming together, I’m feeling very confident, very fit,” said Watson, who is targeting a top-25 berth and a Grand Slam seeding by the end of 2015. “I’ve been working on a lot of things with my coach, working on being aggressive, working on my serve.”
Conditions couldn’t have been much tougher for both players as the final began. With rain in the air and wind speeds reaching up to 90kph in Hobart, Watson made a nervous start on her own delivery, weathering 11 break points in her opening two service games before Brengle finally broke to open up a 3-1 lead. Watson broke back immediately but her struggles on serve continued as gusts swirled around the Domain Tennis Centre.
There were 44 minutes on the match clock by the time Watson levelled once more at 3-3, but a third successive Brengle break gave her the chance to serve for the set. The American reached break point once more – her 14th of the set – but could not convert.
Safety-first tennis has been central to Brengle’s run from qualifying to the final, but with Watson defending every bit as well as the world No.84 she was forced to play for the lines and the errors soon racked up. She ended the match with 34 in all – 21 from her forehand wing – compared to 32 for the Briton.
“I think be both didn’t play all that badly given how horrible that wind was,” said Brengle, who takes heart from her performances both in Hobart and Brisbane, where she has played 13 matches in the run-up to the Australian Open.
“It’s totally different coming in off the back of all these matches,” she added. “You have all the cobwebs blown out, and I’ve enjoyed playing here so much.”
As the wind died down the quality of the tennis certainly improved from both players. What Brengle lacks in power she makes up for with angles, keeping Watson on the run in the early stages of the second.
But the calmer conditions allowed Watson to revert to her attacking game and Brengle fell to a critical break in game seven. The American battled on but could not halt Watson, who served out the title on her first match point.
“I don’t play like anybody else – I know what I’m capable of and I know how good I can play and that’s my focus,” Watson said. “When I won Osaka in 2012, it was more of a surprise, but here I feel like I belong.
“I’m obviously very happy. It was tough conditions again today, very windy, and I knew Madison would be tough – we know each other very well on and off the court, and we practice a lot in Florida.
“It really was my toughest match of the week. I was happy I stayed mentally strong and managed to get ahead and hold my nerve at the end.”