Kanepi's triumph is a first-ever for Estonian tennis. Photo by Marcello Paternostro/AFP/Getty Images

TALLINN — Kaia Kanepi won the Internazionali Femminili di Tennis tournament in Palermo, Italy, becoming the first Estonian tennis player to win a WTA title.

Kanepi showed her true potential in the tournament, playing the best tennis of her career thus far. In the final on Sunday Kanepi defeated Flavia Pennetta of Italy in straight sets 6-4 and 6-3.

Kanepi had beat the 12-ranked Pennetta, who has won nine WTA singles titles, twice before and although Penetta won the first two games Kanepi dominated the rest of the set, refusing to let the Italian champ or the clay court faze her.

In the semifinal Kaia defeated Romina Oprandi, also Italian, in straight sets 6-3 and 6-2.

“I’m very happy to win my first career title,” Kanepi told the Sony Ericsson WTA website. “This is the best moment of my career. After doing well at Wimbledon, now I’ve confirmed I’m playing really well. Flavia was playing well but today I was more aggressive in the most important moments of the match.”

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