Doha - Victoria Azarenka beat Serena Williams 7-6 (8/6), 2-6, 6-3 to retain her Qatar Open title on Sunday, only her second win in 13 meetings with the American.
It was also completed back-to-back trophy defences for the Belarusian who last month defended the Australian Open title.
Azarenka, who will nevertheless lose the world No 1 ranking to Williams on Monday, served superbly in the first and third sets of her win, reducing the 15-time Grand Slam title-winner's opportunities to unleash her ferocious ground strokes.
It prevented a triumphant epilogue to Williams's recapture of the world No 1 position after an interval of two and a half years, and denied the tennis legend the 42nd title of her career.