Italian beats Suarez Navarro in three sets to win Andalucia Open
Italian ace Flavia Pennetta claimed her first title of the year after defeating Carla Suarez Navarro in a hard-fought Andalucia Tennis Experience final on Sunday.
The second seed had not dropped a set all week on the clay in Marbella going into the final, but had to survive a fight-back by the Spaniard to win 6-2 4-6 6-3.
The 28-year-old Italian at first appeared to be in for a routine afternoon when she powered through the first set, taking both of her break-point opportunities and winning 31 of the 50 points on offer.
But the Spanish eighth seed improved in the second set, upping her first-serve percentage to 75 per cent and breaking twice to level the match.
The decider could have gone either way as both players struggled to hold serve - with six breaks in nine games in total.
But Pennetta took four of those - including in the final game when Suarez Navarro saved one match point at 30-40 down on her serve, but the world number 16 won the next two points to seal a ninth career title.