Smashnova denies Kournikova elusive title

Anna Kournikova's hopes of ending a seven-year search for a WTA singles title were crushed by Anna Smashnova in the Shanghai Open final on Sunday.

While the top-seeded Israeli collected her sixth career title with a comfortable 6-2, 6-3 victory, Kournikova was left to reflect on another missed opportunity, having lost her three previous finals.

The Russian, who has become better known for her glamour looks than her tennis career, could not cope with her 26-year-old opponent's explosive serves and booming groundstrokes as she slipped to a predictable defeat.

The 21-year-old did improve after a sluggish start and managed to break serve in the second set, but she was no match for her powerful opponent who she beat on their last meeting in Stanford in July.

Smashnova, who came to the tournament ranked 19th in the world, easily put paid to Kournikova's attempts to lure her to the net and only had to wait for her fourth-seeded opponent to make an unforced error.

Kournikova, whose commercial endorsements dwarf her career earnings, was appearing in her first final since Moscow 2000, since when injuries and loss of form briefly dropped her to 99th in the WTA rankings from a career high eighth. She came into the tournament ranked 38th.

Smashnova won her first title in Tashkent in 1999 and her second in Knokke-Heist a year later. This year she has won in Auckland, Canberra and Vienna.