Lindsay Davenport claimed her first title in 15 months when she downed fellow former world number one Monica Seles in the Pan Pacific Open tennis final in Tokyo.

Davenport fired 16 aces on her way to a 6-7 (6-8) 6-1 6-2 victory over her ninth-ranked compatriot to reclaim the indoor trophy she won in 1998 and 2001.

The victory is expected to move the 26-year-old American up to eighth in the world.

"It's great to be able to come back and play a higher level of tennis... It was a tough year last year with knee surgery and I wasn't playing for about seven months, I knew it would take a lot to get back," said the American.

Seles overcame an early service break and then came back from three mini-breaks in the tie-breaker before saving one set point to take the first set.

But Davenport stood firm on her serve and chalked up a 5-0 lead in the second set.

Seles tenaciously saved four set points in the sixth game and another in the following game, only to see Davenport win the set with three aces.

Seles again came back from a break down to tie it at 2-2 in the third set, but serving was critical as Davenport added three aces and three service-return winners before finishing it off with her 16th ace.

"I feel really happy, it's always great to win a tournament and beat a player like Monica and I'm just happy with the way I played in the last two sets," said Davenport.

"I was able to get better as the match went on, and it was still a very close match, but it's great to win here in Tokyo again.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP