Canadian wins title; makes history

It has been a fantastic week for qualifier Aleksandra Wozniak, as she went through all of the qualifying rounds, and went all the way in the main draw to beat Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli for the title, and also, Wozniak, ranked No. 85, has become the first Canadian woman to win a tournament since 1988.

En route to the title, Wozniak beat No. 8 seed Francesca Schiavone in the first round, and top seed Serena Williams in the semifinals, before winning here in Stanford, California to the Frenchwoman.

On the bottom half of the draw it was No.6 seed Marion Bartoli who made it into the final. She was nearly bundled out in the second round by qualifier Anne Keothavong, rallying from 4-1 down in the third set to win, 63 16 75; that may have propelled her to new heights as she played near-flawlessly to stun No.2 seed and defending champion Anna Chakvetadze in straight sets in the quarters, then beat Ai Sugiyama for the first time in six meetings in the semis. Her win over Chakvetadze was her first Top 10 win of the season, and by beating Sugiyama she moved into her second-biggest career final, after Wimbledon.

The Frenchwoman faced the Canadian, battling powerful strokes and high speed serves. At the end, it was Wozniak who was stronger and despite having to rally back from break points in the first and losing only five points on her serve in the second set, she was the new champion at Stanford, winning 75 63.

"It feels great," Wozniak said. "It's my first title on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour and I'm really excited and proud of what I have accomplished here, advancing through the qualifying rounds and winning the title. Playing eight matches in one week is never easy. I was really excited and wanted to go out there, do my best and not think about how tired I was.

"I focused so hard this week on winning one match at a time. I believe in myself but I never thought I would win this tournament."