Flushing Meadows, NY (Sports Network) - Serena Williams outlasted Jelena Jankovic to capture the U.S. Open title for the first time in six years.

Williams, the fourth seed, easily won the first set, but had to come from behind to down Serbia's Jankovic 6-4, 7-5 to win this event for the first time since 2002 and her third overall title.

Williams will become the new No. 1 player in the world with the win, and she pocketed $1.5 million, while Jankovic took home $750,000 for finishing as the runner-up. It will be the first time she has been ranked No. 1 since August 2003, the longest gap between stints at No. 1 for a woman.

It is the ninth major title for Williams as she improved to 9-3 in Grand Slam finals.

This match was originally supposed to be played on Saturday, but Tropical Storm Hanna postponed the women's final until Sunday.

Williams reached the final for the fourth time in her career by dominating sixth-seeded Russian Dinara Safina 6-3, 6-2 in Friday's second semifinal at Ashe Stadium.

Jankovic handled fifth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva 6-4, 6-4 to appear in her first-ever major final after going 0-4 in her previous Grand Slam semis, including 0-2 in such encounters this season. She was a semifinalist here two years ago.

Serena and Jankovic had split six career matchups, including two meetings this year. The American prevailed in a final in Miami, while the Serb came out on top in an Aussie Open quarterfinal back in January. Williams topped Jankovic in an Aussie Open encounter last year, as the two players are 1-1 in their Grand Slam matchups.

Photo Copyright Getty Images

powered by