Serena Williams recovered from a lapse in the second set to beat Russian Vera Zvonareva 6-4 3-6 6-3 in the Family Circle Cup final in South Carolina.

The fifth seed fought back from an early break down in the third set to wrap up victory in one hour 50 minutes.

Her third title of the year - and 31st of her career - will lift her from ninth to sixth in the WTA rankings.

"I'm feeling really good. I'm not even reaching my peak yet. I feel like I can do so much better," said Williams.

Williams, 26, broke the ninth-seeded Russian in the third game of the match and held serve to take the first set when her opponent netted a forehand.

After surprisingly losing the second set with a run of unforced errors, and surrendered an early break in the third before breaking Zvonareva twice.

"It was definitely an up and down final," Williams added.

"I got a lot of errors but I was glad I was able to come through."


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