World number five Ons Jabeur secured her first title of the season on Sunday with a 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 victory over Belinda Bencic in the Charleston Open final.

Jabeur, 28, enjoyed the best campaign of her career in 2022 as she reached the finals of Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

But she was sidelined due to knee trouble following this year’s Australian Open.

The Tunisian returned with early exits at the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open, meaning she came into Charleston without consecutive wins since early January.

But she looked right back to her best at the WTA 500 event, not dropping a set the entire tournament.

Jabeur beat Lesia Tsurenko, Caroline Dolehide, Anna Kalinskaya and Daria Kasatkina to reach the final.

But she had to respond to early adversity against Bencic as the Swiss secured a break in the opening game of the first set.

Down 5-4 in the opener, Jabeur broke back at the last opportunity to keep the set alive.

And after falling 6-4 behind in the tie-break, she rattled off the next four points in a row to steal it.

The second set was all about making the most of her chances, as Jabeur only had three break-point chances compared to Bencic’s five.

But she was able to convert all three, while Bencic could only snag two.

The final was a rematch from last year’s Charleston Open title match, where Bencic prevailed over Jabeur in three sets.

It is Jabeur’s first title since the German Open in June, where she again had to overcome Bencic in the final.

Jabeur now leads their head-to-head 3-2 in matches played at the WTA Tour level.

(dpa/NAN)