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Safina triumphs in Los Angeles

28/07/2008

Fourth seed Dinara Safina has won the East West Bank Classic in Los Angeles after victory over Flavia Pennetta in Sunday's final.

The powerful Russian, who has been in excellent form in the last few months, blew away her opponent for a straight-sets win, 6-4 6-2.

Pennetta was largely outclassed by her 22-year-old opponent, who won her second title of the season.

Safina's first tournament victory came in Berlin in May, where she needed to beat Justine Henin, Serena Williams and Elena Dementieva to claim the crown.

And her latest triumph came courtesy of a semi-final win over Jelena Jankovic, who would have moved to the top of the world rankings with an appearance in the final.

Safina is up to a career high eighth in the world rankings after her victory in Los Angeles following a solid season, which also saw her reach the final of the French Open before losing to Ana Ivanovic.