Jankovic claims crown

The top-seeded Serbian did not let her late arrival in New Zealand distract her as she edged out Russian Vera Zvonareva 7-6 5-7 6-3 in a final lasting just under three hours.

A swirling breeze contributed to the high number of unforced errors in the match, which featured 15 breaks of serve. But Jankovic doubled her title haul while Zvonareva's hopes were left blowing in the wind.

"I'm speechless," said Jankovic, who arrived in Auckland less than 24 hours before her first match.

"I came here so late and didn't know what to expect from this tournament and here I am holding this trophy."

Jankovic, a surprise semi-finalist at the U.S. Open last year, saved two set points in an edgy first set before clinching it 11-9 in the tiebreak.

In a scrappy second, serving became a burden as both struggled to hold. Stringing together two successive games became the key and Zvonareva appeared to gain the psychological edge when she broke Jankovic 6-5 before serving out the set.

But Zvonareva, runner-up 12 months ago, could not steer home her advantage and again had to settle for second best.

"She played unbelievable today and she deserved to win," Zvonareva said.

"Even though we had tough conditions to play with the wind this week, she played some great tennis."