Paula Badosa has begun to find Australia pretty much to her liking, with the rising Spaniard claiming her maiden title Down Under at the Sydney Tennis Classic.
World No. 9 recovered from a letdown in the second set to beat French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4) in two hours and 24 minutes at the Cane Roswell Arena on Saturday.
The let-down was a key feature of Badosa's Australian experience last year, with the 24-year-old going into tough quarantine with the coronavirus ahead of the season-opening slam.
At the time Badosa described feeling "abandoned", felt conditions were "mourning" and summed up her stay as "the worst experience of [her] career".
Then ranked 67th in the world, she was bounced out in the first round of the Open in three sets by qualifier Lyudmila Samsonova.
It all seemed a world away on Saturday as the Melbourne Park Smokey won the third title of his career under sunny skies in Sydney.
After a rest of 2021, when she won two trophies from two finals, made the first Grand Slam quarter-finals and finished in the top 10, Badosa won again.
Having gained a reputation as a clay-court slugger, Badosa said that she had worked hard on her hardcourt game and was getting results.
"I think I made a really good move on that, starting with my coach, Jorge (Garcia), he helped me a lot on this big change," she said.
"For me, winning tournaments on hard courts is very special, probably because I was playing really well on clay...
"I think the courts are faster here in Australia, so this change was a little daunting for me... but I'm really glad I'm starting to do it..."
4 Krejcikova three times in the opening set, giving a break but eventually taking it in 34 minutes.
Badosa went on to win the second set 4-4 in straight sets, but a loose service game went to the advantage of his opponent, who took the ball in his hand and sealed the deal.
The third set was of arm wrestling and after the opening break, both the players remained strong on serve.
Krejcikova, who saved a remarkable seven set points to defeat Annette Kontaveit in her semi-final, seemed up to the task again and struck a chord with Badosa late in the clash.
But consecutively lost service points in the middle of the tiebreaker gave Badosa the advantage, with Krejcikova saving a match point before surrendering the clash on serve.
Badosa will face Australian number two Ajla Tomljanovic in the first round of the Open while Krejcikova will face German Andrea Petkovic.