Super Svitolina sends out Australian Open warning
Aliaksandra Sasnovich performed admirably to reach the Brisbane International final, but proved no match for world number six Elina Svitolina.
Elina Svitolina claimed the biggest title of her career to date on Saturday, thumping Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2 6-1 in the final of the Brisbane International.
World number six Svitolina enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2017 - winning five tournaments, including three Premier 5 events.
However, the Ukrainian broke new ground in Brisbane by securing her first Premier-level trophy, courtesy of a dominant display against qualifier Sasnovich.
"It was a tough, tough off-season," said Svitolina in an on-court interview. "To start with a trophy is always very, very special."
Sasnovich had come from a set down to win her first three main-draw matches, but had no answer to Svitolina's power after falling behind on this occasion.
A low first-serve percentage hampered the Belarusian, who apologised to the crowd for her performance before adding: "It was an incredible week for Elina - she was better than me and deserved to win."
Svitolina is set to rise to fourth in the WTA rankings on Monday and has now won her last six finals and will go into the first Grand Slam of the year among the favourites for the title.