KEY POINTS:
Top seed Jelena Jankovic prevailed in a marathon see-sawing final to claim the ASB Classic tennis title in Auckland today.
In an enthralling battle that went to two hours and 45 minutes, the 21-year-old Serb, ranked 12 in the world, downed Russian opponent Vera Zvonareva 7-6 (11-9) 5-7 6-3 to land the second WTA Tour crown of her career.
For Zvonareva, 22, it was the second year in a row that she had come agonisingly close in Auckland, having also lost in the championship decider last year.
However, the world No 24 put in a much stronger challenge than when she fell in straight sets to Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli 12 months ago.
Jankovic, whose previous singles title was at Budapest in 2004, began strongly, breaking serve in the opening game.
But Zvonareva made a comeback, and at 6-6 the pair engaged in a tiebreaker that ebbed and flowed.
A couple of superb lobs produced mini-breaks for Zvonareva but Jankovic, her ground strokes again solid today, stepped up her game.
Having saved two set points, Jankovic finally took the tiebreak, converting her third set-point opportunity.
Zvonareva put that disappointment behind her, to take a second set in which both women struggled to hold their serve in the windy conditions.
They also mixed some superb shotmaking with unforced errors, but Jankovic's drop of serve at 5-5 proved decisive.
In the third set, Jankovic became more aggressive and appeared to be cruising when up 4-1 on a break of serve.
But Zvonareva continued to show her fighting qualitites to break back to close to 3-4, before surrendering her serve in the next game and allowing her opponent to serve for the match.
Jankovic was delighted with the victory, especially as she didn't arrive in Auckland until the day before her first-round match.
"I didnt know what to expect because I came so late for this tournament, she said.
"It's a feeling like the saying, 'I came, I saw, I conquered."
She had expected a tough match, "but it was really tough.
"We were out there hitting the ball as hard as we could for three hours."
Meanwhile, Zvonareva pointed to Jankovic's aggressive approach at the start of the third set as being a key to the result.
She wasnt too disheartened about finishing runner-up again.
"To come back here and defend the final, it's great, she said.
"There are not many players who can come back another year and be in the final."
- NZPA
