American Amanda Anisimova battled through injury to beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 7-5 1-6 6-4 in the Melbourne Summer Set 2 final and claim her second WTA title on January 9.
Anisimova, playing her first final since she won the Copa Colsanitas in Bogota in April 2019, overcame a thigh injury to seal the win in two hours nine minutes.
Belarusian Sasnovich got off to a good start, breaking to take a 3-2 lead in the opening set, but Anisimova quickly raised her game, breaking back to level the set at 4-4 and then breaking again to take the first set 7-5.
Sasnovich responded to going a set down with two early breaks in the second set to take a 3-0 lead.
Two games later, with the set at 4-1, Anisimova took a medical timeout for treatment on her left thigh, returning to the match with her leg heavily taped up.
Visibly hampered by her injury, Anisimova was broken for a third time as Sasnovich took the second set 6-1 and levelled the match.
Sasnovich looked to have carried her momentum into the third set, as she held serve twice and broke to go 3-0 up, but Anisimova showed great resolve to fight back and break twice, before wrapping up the win with an emphatic ace.
"I'm in a good headspace now after an incredibly tough year," said Anisimova, who missed the Australian Open in 2021 after testing positive for COVID-19.
"It's good to start the year in a good place and winning a title, I honestly couldn't ask for more."
