Russia's Veronika Kudermetova claimed Maiden WTA singles title at Charleston Clay Court event

Veronika Kudermetova earned her first WTA singles title on Sunday, thrashing Montenegro's Danka Kovinic in straight sets to claim the Charleston Clay Court title in South Carolina.

Fifteenth-seeded Kudermetova dominated early on to claim a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Kovinic.

The 23-year-old from Kazan defeated Kovinic in the seventh game of the second set, going 5-2 ahead, and then held on confidently and won the victory in 1 hour and 36 minutes.

"I feel so happy, amazing," Kudermetova said afterwards. "I had a lot of ups and downs, and now I'm here with the trophy," added the Russian, who did not lose a set all week in Charleston.

Sunday's title marked Kudermetova's second appearance in a final this season, losing WTA Abu Dhabi to Aryna Sabalenka in January.

Kudermetova's victory in Charleston came after a tournament in which nine of the top 10 seeds dropped out before the quarterfinals on Friday, while world number #1 Ashleigh Barty exited from the last eight.

After an exceptional week of tennis, new #Charleston champions were crowned. Watch how it all went down on Sunday finals in our highlights video.

Congratulations to our #VolvoCarOpen singles champion Veronika Kudermetova & doubles champions Nicole Melichar and Demi Schuurs! pic.twitter.com/RN1wAXT3Zh

— Volvo Car Open (@VolvoCarOpen) April 11, 2021