Oudin tops Jankovic for AEGON title

BIRMINGHAM, England, June 18 (UPI) -- Melanie Oudin defeated No. 5-seeded Jelena Jankovic in straight sets Monday at England's AEGON Classic, claiming her first WTA championship.

The 20-year-old American player had five breaks in a 6-4, 6-2 victory. The AEGON marked the first time Oudin advanced to a WTA final. Jankovic, a former No. 1-ranked player, fell to 12-15 in tournament finals. She has lost four title matches since her most recent WTA title in March 2010.

Thechampionship match was pushed to Monday because of rains last week. Both Oudin and Jankovic posted three-set semifinal wins Sunday. Jankovic also played a full quarterfinal match Sunday while Oudin had to complete a suspended quarterfinal.

The finalists traded early breaks in the first set Monday before Oudin went up 4-3 with a break and fought off a break point to get to 5-3. Oudin was up 2-0 in the second set but Jankovic came back and evened the set only to have Oudin take over and win the final four games.

Oudin ended up winning 52 percent -- 57 percent in the second set -- of the points off Jankovic's serve.