Italy’s Karin Knapp clinched her first WTA Tour title at the Tashkent Open on Saturday, six years after she feared her career may have ended when she underwent heart surgery.

The third seed, a former top 40 player, defeated top-seeded Serb Bojana Jovanovski 6-2 7-6 (7-4) for the trophy in the capital of Uzbekistan.

Knapp was 35 in the world in 2008 when she needed surgery for a longstanding heart condition before going on to struggle with knee injuries, all problems which caused her ranking to plummet to 616.

“I can’t say how happy I am right now,” said 27-year-old Knapp.

“I’ve had five surgeries, so many months of lay-offs in the last six years, in and out of tennis the last two years due to bad knee problems — but I knew it was possible for me to win a WTA event one day, and I’m so happy I could do it here in Tashkent.”