Venus Williams won her first WTA tournament in more than two years on Sunday, beating Monica Niculescu of Romania 6-2, 6-3 to take the Luxembourg Open title.
Slowed for two seasons by injuries and illness, Williams showed she still had the winning touch and played steady tennis while Niculescu proved error-prone as she sought her first career title.
At 32, Williams won her 44th singles title in a career that includes seven Grand Slams.
For Niculescu, ranked No. 70, it was the second loss in the Luxembourg Open final in a row.
Williams, now ranked No. 41, had not won a tournament since early 2010, when she took the titles in Dubai and Acapulco in short order.
Throughout the 1 hour, 22 minute match, Williams rarely looked in trouble, taking the early initiative and never letting go.
In men's action, Tomas Berdych won his second ATP title this year by rallying to beat top-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the Stockholm Open final on Sunday in Sweden.
The sixth-ranked Czech saved seven of nine breakpoint chances in the hard-fought match to improve to 3-1 lifetime against Tsonga and add to his win in February in Montpellier, France. Berdych now has eight career titles.
For the first time in his career, the talented Czech has now won more than one title during a season.
"It feels pretty good ... this season has been really solid," Berdych said.
Berdych saved a break point to hold serve for 5-4 in the deciding set. In the following game, Tsonga then saved two match points by hitting an ace and a winner but ultimately lost on a double fault.
"I just tried to stay positive until the end and tried to take points one by one," the Czech said.
"I'm happy to turn it (the match) around, it makes the win even more special," added the Czech, who is aiming to make it into next month's London Finals, after which he will be part of the team to take on Spain in the Davis Cup final.
In a tight deciding set, both players fought off several break points, with both managing to hold serves until the tenth game, where Tsonga's serving finally let him down.
"I feel bad," said a disappointed Tsonga, the stronger player for a set and a half.
"I think we played a great match and I had many opportunities. I did some wrong things, but I gave my best tennis and I lost, so I have nothing to regret."
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