Second-seeded Nadia Petrova defeated unseeded Nathalie Dechy, 6-2, 6-1, to win the Western and Southern Financial Groups Women's Open, her first WTA Tour title of the year on Sunday.

"It's been awhile," said the 26-year-old Petrova. "I've been in some finals, but it felt really good to win my eighth title. Things seem to be going in the right direction."

"I expected a much more difficult match today," Petrova said. "I served well and hung in the rallies well. I was very focused today. I knew I had to play very clean and not give her any chances. I think it was a very clean match from my side."


Dechy fell to 1-4 lifetime in finals, her last final coming almost exactly four years ago in New Haven, where she was the runner-up (to Elena Bovina).

"I tried my best out there but I couldn't do it today," Dechy said. "All the credit to Nadia though. She was serving really well, volleying well and hitting all of her shots really deep, I could never play my game. I was always under pressure. And my serve wasn't very effective either, so she also did well returning."

"When the list originally came out, I was maybe 10 spots out of getting into the main draw; I only got in at the last moment. It turned out to be a really great week. The organization here was of a really high standard and I'm really happy I ended up playing here."

(source The Canadian Press, photo/David Kohl/AP Photo)

Nadia Petrova wins Cincinnati title