Kuznetsova downs Safina in final

Stuttgart, May 03: Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Russian compatriot and world number one Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-3 in the final to win Stuttgart's WTA tournament to bring an end to her losing streak in finals.

The fifth-seed needed just one hour and 19 minutes to beat the highest-ranked player in the world in straight sets to claim the winner's prize of a new Porsche sports car.

Having beaten Olympic champion Elena Dementieva in Saturday's semi-final, Kuznetsova finally broke her losing streak here having lost the last six finals she had reached on the WTA tour.

Kuznetsova changed both her coach and moved back to Moscow last year from Spain to train and the Stuttgart champion said the win here is proof she is on the right track.

"I changed so many things in the last year, pretty much everything you can change in your career, so this win is a good sign," she said.

"I love being in Moscow, I love being back home, my soul feels at home in Russia."