Sunday 14 September 2014 16:09, UK
Karin Knapp secured the first WTA Tour title of her career after beating top seed Bojana Jovanovski in straight sets in the Tashkent Open final on Saturday.
Serbia's Jovanovski was looking to claim her second consecutive Tashkent trophy, but it was Italy's Knapp who sealed an impressive 6-2 7-6 (7-4) victory.
It was Knapp's second WTA final in her 12-year pro career, losing her only previous final to Justin Henin in Antwerp six years ago.
The third seed had gone past the second round in just one of her previous 20 events this year, but the 27-year-old found form to win her maiden title without dropping a set.
Knapp has suffered a series of injury and health issues that saw her slip from a career-high 35 in 2008 out of the world's top 600.
She told wtatour.com: "I've had five surgeries, so many months of lay-offs in the last six years, in and out of tennis due to bad knee problems.
"But I knew it was possible for me to win a WTA event one day, and I'm so happy I could do it here in Tashkent."
