Hobart - Russia's Elena Vesnina won her first WTA tour title when she beat 2012 champion Mona Barthel 6-3, 6-4 in the final of the Hobart International tournament on Saturday.
The unseeded 26-year-old played composed tennis throughout against the German, four years her junior, winning the match in just under 84 minutes.
Vesnina had lost six previous finals, three in 2011 alone, and sank to her knees in relief when a Barthel backhand sailed wide of the tram lines to give her a first title.
She meets France's Caroline Garcia in the first round of the Australian Open in Melbourne, while Barthel meets Ksenia Pervak of Kazakhstan.
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Novak Djokovic
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He's without peer on clay. Easy victory for him
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71% Novak Djokovic
3% Roger Federer
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GEN De la Rey says, with many of his Bulls favourites blossoming in Super Rugby, 2013 will be the year Heyneke Meyer will impress with the Springboks.
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