Serena stars in Stanford to win first title since return
Serena Williams claimed her first WTA Tour title since her return to tennis with a 7-5 6-1 victory over Marion Bartoli at the Bank of the West Classic.
The 13-time major champion was broken twice in the first set by the Frenchwoman but showed great composure to fight back and take the first set.
She broke back as Bartoli served for the set at 5-4 and that sparked a run of eight straight games for the American.
Second seed Bartoli, who beat the American in straight-sets in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon earlier this year, briefly stopped the rot at 5-1.
But Williams wrapped up proceedings in the next game after one hour and 22 minutes on court to signal her intentions for the forthcoming US Open.
