Martina Hingis won the first WTA singles tour title of her comeback on Sunday, taking down Dinara Safina 6-2 7-5 at Rome's Foro Italico.
With the win the Swiss player, unseeded, announces she is a force to be reckoned with, just six months after returning to top-flight tennis.
To judge by her performance on centre court, there is little to separate the Martina of today with the dominating performer she was before injury forced her to take three years out of the tour.
"It's great to be on top of the game," she said after the match.
She came out in her final firing on all cylinders, taking two quick games and then coming back from 0-40 down to break a second time and lead 3-0.
She approached the net without hesitation and ripped away to 5-0 before Dinara mustered the courage to counter. She did then manage a mini-comeback, though it lasted only two games.
Going into the second set, Hingis hit devastating form and began attacking Dinara's serve. Dinara, who has had three of the biggest wins of her career over the last week, looked slow around the court compared to the nimble Swiss star, who even managed a successful serve and volley.
At around 4-1 however Hingis lost concentration. Dinara pulled back to 4-3, then at 5-3 Hingis had two match points, which she could not convert.
At 6-5 she was given a second chance to serve out the championship. She saved four break points, failed to convert her third match point and then took the fourth match point with two cross court backhands, both of which landed on the lines.
