American qualifier Lauren Davis won her second WTA title Saturday to end a six-year drought when she swept past Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the Hobart International final.
In a boost to her confidence heading into next week's Australian Open, the 29-year-old outlasted her higher-ranked opponent 7-6 (7/0), 6-2.
Davis, ranked 84, won her only singles title in Auckland in 2017. She had made two other finals, but not since 2016.
"I have a lot of emotions going through my body right now," Davis said.
"I'm just really happy, really excited. I really had to play my best in order to win today.
"We've put in so much time and so much hard work and effort, and it’s such a fulfilling feeling to have all the hard work pay off."
It was an impressive performance by Davis, who came through qualifying and upset fourth seed and 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens in the first round. She didn't drop a set all tournament.
Neither player was able to convert break-point chances in a tense first set before Davis raced through the tiebreak to love.
She kept the momentum going in the second set, breaking in the second game to overpower the 21-year-old Cocciaretto in the Italian's first WTA final.
Davis begins her Australian Open campaign against world number 54 Danka Kovinic.