Serena Williams wins Cincinnati open

CNN — World number one Serena Williams won her first ever Cincinnati Open, and her 62nd career WTA title, by brushing aside Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 6-1.

Williams needed just 62 minutes to dispatch her Serbian rival and win her second title in a month.

The victory was the perfect preparation for the season’s final major, the US Open, which begins in eight days time.

I just kind of close my eyes and serve

“It was such a great week,” Williams said after the victory, before praising Ivanovic’s performance.

“She was playing so hard, hitting so many winners.”

It has, by her own high standards, been a below par season for Williams.

She hasn’t made it to a final of a single major so far this season.

And whilst her five titles this year — in Miami, Brisbane, Stanford, Rome and now Cincinnati — could be considered a good eight month’s work for almost any other player, Williams is held, both by herself and her peers, to a higher standard.

Yet Cincinnati was something of a return to form. She won nine of the last ten games, pounding 12 aces and 26 winners along the way.