Serena Claims Bangalore Crown

Former world No. 1 Serena Williams flexed her muscles on the big points to shut out Swiss Patty Schnyder in the final of the Bangalore Open on Sunday.

Serena Williams hadn't played a match since losing in the Australian Open quarterfinals in January. She was recovering from dental surgery. Williams, ranked No. 11 in the world, was inconsistent for the most part but drew from her wealth of experience to edge out fourth seed Schnyder 7-5, 6-3 in 83 minutes for her first title of the season.

The third-seeded Williams, who beat older sister and world No. 7 Venus in the semifinals on Saturday, was stretched by the left-handed Schnyder, who subtly varied her angles to wear down her opponent. But the American, playing her first tournament since the Australian Open quarterfinal in January, was up to the task.
Williams, who skipped tournaments in February to recover from dental surgery, broke her opponent in the sixth game of the opening set, but lost her serve immediately and admonished herself.

But Williams, who ended on the wrong side of the result in both of their meetings last year, broke Schnyder in the 12th game to win the opening set. Schnyder went up 3-1 in the second set against an inconsistent Serena, but the multiple Grand Slam winner came back strongly, winning the next five games to wrap up the match.