Victory in the ASB Bank international women's tennis final in Wellington yesterday may herald the start of a tennis revival for Australia's Cindy Watson.
After having a world ranking of 130 two years ago, Watson started the $US10,000 ($14,826) event last week having sunk to 615.
She was desperate for court time to build her confidence, and harden her matchplay skills, and the results were gratifying.
The seventh seed upset defending champion and No 1 seed Lauren Breadmore, also of Australia, 6-4, 6-1 in a one hour 12 minutes match that rarely rose above the mediocre.
A New Zealander still ended the tournament a winner when Shelley Stephens and her Australian partner Kristen van Elden beat Australians Emily Hewson and Nicole Kriz 6-1 3-6 6-3 in the doubles final.
Tennis: Watson wins Wellington women's international
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