BBC SPORT | Tennis | Serena extends winning run

Sunday's final result

Serena Williams continued her unstoppable season at the Sparkassen Cup in Leipzig when she demolished Anastasia Myskina 6-3 6-2.

The world number one chased down a volley and blasted it into the open court to close out her 36th win in 37 matches, and secure her sixth title in seven tournaments.

I'm not playing the kind of tennis I would like to

Serena Williams

She needed only 76 minutes to scoop the 19th title of her career.

But, just as she had not been at her best in the early rounds of the event, she also allowed Myskina to stay with her in the opening four games.

"I'm not playing the kind of tennis I would like to," said Williams. "I'm still making too many unforced errors."

Myskina, who has risen from 58th to 12th in the rankings this year, had knocked out title holder Kim Clijsters of Belgium in a thrilling semi-final.

The sixth-seeded Russian surprised Williams with an early break to take a 2-1 lead.

But Williams broke back in a seesaw fourth game, setting up the key point by bending deep for an untouchable drop volley.

Anastasia Myskina
Myskina could not match Williams' strength

She then showed the 21-year-old Russian, regarded by many as a future top-10 player, why she has dominated tennis since May.

Despite Myskina's foot speed, she could not handle Williams attack and the American blasted shots all over the court, rushed the net at will and teed off on her opponent's weak second serve.

At 4-1 in the second set, Williams drew a roar from the 6,000 spectators by running backwards to chase down a lob at the back line and then whipped it past the frozen Russian with a ferocious velocity.

Myskina managed to save three match points, but Williams proved too strong.

Williams, 21, is now the most prolific woman on the circuit this year with one more title than her elder sister Venus, including the three straight Grand Slam crowns at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open.

Sparkassen Cup final result

Serena Williams (USA, 1) bt Anastasia Myskina (Russia, 6) 6-3 6-2


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