Bencic secures Adelaide crown as Davis ends title drought in Hobart
Belinda Bencic overcame world number eight Daria Kasatkina in straight sets to clinch one of the first titles of the 2023 season.
Bencic cruised to a 6-0 6-2 final victory over Kasatkina to claim the Adelaide International 2 crown on Saturday.
Both Bencic and Kasatkina did not have to play a semi-final after their respective opponents, Veronika Kudermetova and Paula Badosa, both pulled out with injuries.
Bencic romped to victory in the final, dropping just two games against her Russian opponent to lift her first title in Australia.
The match lasted just 67 minutes as the 2021 runner-up converted five of her seven break point opportunities while not facing a single break point.
Bencic rattled off eight games in a row to start the final and the world number 13 finished the job to win in straight sets in a perfect build-up to the Australian Open.
"I'm happy I could show my work here on the court," Bencic told reporters at a post-match news conference.
"I thought I played some great matches from the start of the tournament and also against different kind of opponents so I really could test myself out there in every way and just go confidently into the Australian Open."
At the Hobart International, Lauren Davis ended a six-year title drought with a 7-6 (7-0) 6-2 triumph over Elisabetta Cocciaretto in an all-unseeded final.
In the opening set, every game went to serve until the tie-break, when Davis found three crucial breaks to take the advantage heading into the second stanza.
But the second set was not the same tight affair as Cocciaretto, playing in her first Tour-level singles final, collapsed to a 5-0 deficit to leave her staring down the barrel of defeat.
Davis, who herself was playing in a first Tour-level final since winning the trophy in Auckland in 2017, overcame losing the next two games to take the title having not lost a set at the tournament.
"I have a lot of emotions going through my body right now," a delighted Davis said.
"I'm just really happy, really excited.
"I really had to play my best in order to win today."