Ivanovic records straight sets win against Wozniacki to win Pan Pacific Open

Serbian tennis ace Ana Ivanovic battled to record a straight set win against former world number one Caroline Wozniacki in the final of the WTA Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.

Ivanovic needed 99 minutes to beat the US Open finalist 6-2, 7-6 (7-2), stretching her head-to-head tally of wins over the second-seeded Dane to five-two.

The third-seeded Ivanovic, who had ousted Germany's top-seed Angelique Kerber in the semifinals, said that it was so hard physically, adding that she and Wozniacki had a lot of long rallies but to win the title is amazing, Sport24 reported.

The Serb, who is ranked 10th in the world and has won 15 WTA titles, said that she really tried to come into the net and finished a lot of points at the net. She said that she is happy because Wozniacki is a great defensive player and she gets a lot of balls back.

It was the first Pan Pacific Open title for Ivanovic, who has competed in the Tokyo event for eight straight years.

Wozniacki said that she tried to serve and return well, adding that she tried to play the first couple of balls out wide so Ivanovic had to run for it. But, she said that the Serb was playing very aggressively.

Ivanovic also beat Wozniacki in their last encounter, by 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, in the semi-finals at the WTA event in Monterrey in March.

Both Ivanovic and Wozniacki are aiming to qualify for the season-ending WTA Finals in Singapore next month, which will feature the world's top eight players, the report added.