Fifth seeded Serena Williams captured her 40th career WTA title by overpowering ninth seeded Czech Lucie Safarova 6-0, 6-1 at the Charleston claycourt tournament on Sunday.
The 13-time Grand Slam winner needed just 58 minutes to dispatch Safarova in her first final appearance since last year’s US Open when she lost to Samantha Stosur.
It was Williams’ first WTA title since turning 30 in September and she is the first 30-year-old to win on the green clay in Charleston since Martina Navratilova in 1990.