Top seed Jelena Jankovic got off to a good start, but it was defending champion and second seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova that prevailed and won the Whirlpool Monterrey Open final 2-6 6-2 6-3. The International-level Mexican event is the tournament where the Russian first triumphed and now she's managed to retain her crown. Pavlyuchenkova also won the Istanbul Cup last year.

In the semifinals Pavlyuchenkova ended Gisela Dulko's Mexican winning streak. Dulko had won Acapulco and her quarterfinal win at the Monterrey Open was her eighth straight match win. Other players that the 19-ranked Pavlyuchenkova defeated at the 2011 Monterrey Open include Eleni Danilidou, Melanie Oudin and Greta Arn.

Jankovic was looking for her 13th career title and her first since last year's Indian Wells, but Pavlyuchenkova only improved her record against the Serb to 2-0. In addition, the sixth-ranked Jankovic now has a negative record in career finals (12-13), while Pavlyuchenkova kept her record in Monterrey perfect (10-0) and her win-loss record in career finals is now 3-0. (photo via Yahoo)

Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova claimed her maiden Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title by beating Slovakian second seed Daniela Hantuchova in the final of the Monterrey Open in Mexico.

The 18-year-old Pavlyuchenkova was forced to play both her semifinal and her title match in the same day, because of a rain delay. However, that didn’t stop the third seed from winning her first Tour final 1-6 6-1 6-0, defeating Hantuchova for the second time this season, after Dubai.

Prior to winning the Monterrey Open title, Pavlyuchenkova’s Indian Wells semifinal last year was her best result, where she upset Top 10 players Jelena Jankovic and Agnieszka Radwanska. By the way, Jankovic was top seed at the Monterrey Open and lost in the opening round.

Pavlyuchenkova has now risen from No.28 to No.25 in the rankings. (photo via Yahoo)

Top seed Jelena Jankovic suffered an upset in the opening round of the $220,000 Monterrey Open in Mexico, falling to world No.72 Anastasija Sevastova in their first encounter.

The ninth-ranked Jankovic saved set point down 5-4 to take the first set, but wasted a 3-1 lead in the second set and 4-2 in the third to eventually lose to Latvia’s only Top 500 player 5-7 6-4 6-4.

The 19-year-old Sevastova has now scored her first Top 10 victory. Before, she had faced two Top 10 players, Svetlana Kuznetsova at the 2009 US Open and Agnieszka Radwanska at Dubai this year, but lost to both.

Jankovic has played four events so far in 2010 and is yet to reach a quarterfinal. (source: Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, photo: Ralf Reinecke)

Serbia’s world No.9 Jelena Jankovic celebrated her 25th birthday on February 28th in Monterrey, Mexico.

Jankovic received a wildcard for the $220,000 Monterrey Open and is about to play her first-round match against Anastasija Sevastova, ranked 72th in the world.

The top-seeded Serb is the only Top 10 player in Mexico, as the others took some time to rest for the next week’s big event in Indian Wells. Second seed at the Monterrey Open is 24th-ranked Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, also a wildcard. (photos via Great Tennis Photos)

Second seed Marion Bartoli of France won her 300th career singles match and first title this year, beating China's Li Na 6-4 6-3 in the final of the Monterrey Open in Mexico.

Bartoli’s biggest competition on paper was top seed Agnieszka Radwanska, but she was upset in the first round by unseeded Li.

The Monterrey Open title is Bartoli’s fourth career singles title. The 24-year-old won Auckland, Tokyo and Quebec City in 2006. (source: Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)