Ukraine's Elina Svitolina has defeated Belarusian qualifier Alyaksandra Sasnovich in the Brisbane International tennis final in a warm-up tournament for the upcoming Australian Open.
Svitolina topped Sasnovich 6-2, 6-1 on January 6 in the Australian city of Brisbane -- a victory that will boost the Ukrainian star’s world ranking to fourth when the new list comes out on January 8.
Svitolina, 23, said her off-season workouts helped improve her game.
"I've started to play more consistently, and there's lots of things that changed," she said.
"I'm stronger physically. I have a different look to my game."
Sasnovich, also aged 23, will likely rise to 53rd from 88th in the rankings.
Meanwhile, in Doha, France’s Gael Monfils defeated Russian Andrei Rublev 6-2, 6-3 to win the Qatar Open.
Monfils is ranked 46th in the world, while the 20-year-old Rublev was ranked 39th. The Russian’s ranking will rise to 33 when the new listings are published.
"I think I was completely tired today," Rublev said. "We played only one hour and I did not even have a chance in this match.”
Asked about his chances at the upcoming Australian Open, Rublev said he was "more confident" after his showing in the Qatar tournament.
The Australian Open is scheduled to begin on January 15.
