Sam Stosur won the eighth WTA title of her career and second of the year by battling back to win a thrilling final against Karin Knapp at the Gastein Ladies tournament in Austria.
The Australian, who won the US Open four years ago, her only Grand Slam triumph to date, edged past the number three seed 3-6 7-6 6-2.
Earlier in the day Knapp had beaten the number one seed Sara Errani in a rain-postponed semi-final encounter 7-6 4-6 7-5 and surged into a 6-3 4-2 lead against Stosur.
Knapp served for the match at 6-4 5-4 but eventually she ran out of steam as the number two seed prevailed in a clash that lasted almost two-and-a-half hours.
“It was a very hard match,” Stosur said afterwards. “I was getting completely outplayed in that first set but, even though she was up in the second set too, I started to feel like I was doing a little better.
“Obviously she served for the match but I hung in there, got that set, then played better and better from there.”
Stosur won in Strasbourg in May, her first tournament success since she triumphed in Osaka nine months ago, and admits she has enjoyed herself in Austria.
When asked if she will come back to defend her title next year, Stosur replied: “I’d love to return. I’ve said all week, it’s a beautiful place and I’ve really enjoyed being here. I love being in the mountains – it’s something quite different for us from Australia.”
Attention now turns towards this week’s Baku Cup. Knapp is 1.50 to beat Stefanie Voegele in Azerbaijan while the 25-year-old Swiss player is available at 2.40 to come out on top.
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