Serbian tennis star Ana Ivanovic has won her first title since 2011 after defeating American player Venus Williams 6-2 5-7 6-4 in an 'epic' ASB Classic final on Saturday in Auckland.
The ASB Classic has never had players of the calibre of Williams and Ivanovic in any match, let alone the final, so when the draw and results panned out perfectly, all that was left was for these two former world No.1s, with eight Grand Slam titles between them, to play out an epic.
According to Stuff.co.nz, in front of a sold-out stadium, in high humidity, Ivanovic eventually triumphed over Williams after two hours and 19 minutes of gripping tennis with fewer errors and more consistency, although Williams fought hard to win a point in the second set.
For the Serb, this was her 12th title and first since Bali in November 2011, the report added.