Osaka, Japan (Sports Network) - Third-seeded Australian Samantha Stosur captured her first WTA singles title, defeating fourth-seeded Francesca Schiavone on Sunday in the title match of the HP Japan Women's Open.
Stosur took the 7-5, 6-1 win over the Italian Schiavone, and captured her first singles title in six tries. Stosur is a mainstay on the doubles circuit, having taken 22 titles, but hadn't won a WTA event until Sunday.
"I'm very, very pleased to win my first title after losing five previous finals," Stosur said. "It has been a personal goal for a while, so I am glad to have achieved that and it's the perfect way to finish my year in singles. My next goal is to reach the Top 10 for which I would need to play like today every day."
Schiavone was seeking her second WTA singles title, having won at Bad Gastein in 2007. However, she fell to 1-10 in finals as a singles player, though Schiavone has also captured a number of doubles titles (seven).
"There were just a few points difference in the first set," Schiavone said. "It was very close, she took her chances and she deserved to win. I gave her nothing for free, she won every point."
Stosur improved to 4-1 lifetime against Schiavone, taking her third win over the Italian this year.
Stosur collected $37,000 for the win, while Schiavone got $19,000 after the loss.