Saina Nehwal defended her Swiss Open Grand Prix title in style, beating second-seeded Shixian Wang 21-19, 21-16 in the final here on Sunday.
In a close encounter, the third-seeded Indian kept her nerve in a close first game before pulling ahead in the second in the 48-minute encounter.
It was a neck-and-neck affair and there was nothing to separate the two players throughout the match. Saina was dominant at the net, winning 11 points, and also smashed well to put pressure on Shixian.
Though the Chinese put up a gallant fight, it was Saina who had the last laugh.
Earlier, in the semifinal, Saina registered a straight-game victory over Japan's Minatsu Mitani. The Indian ace took 35 minutes for a 21-16, 21-18 triumph. Shixian beat eighth seed Inthanon Ratchanok of Thailand 21-17, 21-15 in the other semifinal.
Saina, who turned 22 on Saturday, didn't allow the Japanese to come close to her as she opened up a 3-0 lead and kept extending it to pocket the first game.
In the second game, Mitani showed some aggression and led 7-3, but Saina caught up with her and then moved ahead to seal the match.
The World No. 5 Saina had beaten sixth seed Xin Liu of China 21-12, 21-13 in the quarterfinals.
