Tennis: Williams wins the Classic

Venus Williams won the 2015 ASB Classic with a tough three-set victory over Caroline Wozniacki. Photo / Getty

Venus Williams said yesterday she was, after a straightforward win in today's ASB Classic final, free from the drama of last year's loss in the tournament decider.

But, as a caveat, she added: "Easier said than done."

And so it proved this afternoon when Williams played some of her worst tennis of the week, before claiming a three-set victory over top seed Caroline Wozniacki to win the 2015 ASB Classic.

Williams rebounded from an underwhelming first set at Stanley Street to reverse her fortunes in a dominant second and hold her nerve during a tense third, eventually winning 2-6 6-3 6-3 to atone for a defeat in the 2014 showpiece against Ana Ivanovic.

The American never looked like fulfilling her pre-match wish and doing it the easy way, not after the humbling she received in the opening set. It was the first set Williams had lost all week and the first time, in the pair's sixth meeting, Wozniacki had managed to take a set from one of the true legends of the sport.

But, as Williams went on to show, a player doesn't win seven grand slams and 46 career titles without remaining composed when faced with adversity.

That adversity arrived early on a sun-soaked afternoon in Auckland. Williams struggled from the outset, managing to hold her first service game only after a couple of ferocious winners when faced with break points.

But those shots were the exception rather than the norm as the set progressed and Wozniacki took a firm grip on the match. The Dane broke her opponent at the second time of trying and soon repeated the feat to jump out to a 5-1 lead, eventually taking the set in just 31 minutes.

When Williams was broken again to begin the second, it looked like the dream final could be over before the packed crowd had even had a chance to make a dent in the steady supply of champagne. But Williams immediately broke back and, just like that, the tide was turned.

The 34-year-old showed there remained enough life in her legs to compete with the world's best, chasing down a couple of Wozniacki returns and winning rallies that seemed to favour the stamina of her 24-year-old opponent.

Williams took the set and followed it up with another break in what proved to be the pivotal third game of the third set, dampening Wozniacki's demeanour and leaving the destiny of the title in her own hands.

With the wind picking up, Williams was battling to hold both her nerve and her serve as the match ticked near the two-hour mark, setting up what looked like it would be a jittery final service game to take the title.

But that game never arrived after Williams jumped on a couple of mistakes from Wozniacki's serve, eventually converting her fourth match point to give this year's trip to New Zealand a much happier resolution.