Pennetta earned a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 victory in Sunday's final for her first title of 2010 and the ninth WTA singles crown of her career. She hadn't won since last July in Palermo and improved to 9-10 all-time in WTA finals.

It was the 16th-ranked Pennetta's second final of the year. She lost to Yanina Wickmayer in the Auckland title match back in January.

Suarez Navarro, meanwhile, lost in the final of this event for the second year in a row. She also fell to Jelena Jankovic last year in her maiden WTA singles title match and is still searching for her first tournament win.

Pennetta had faced little resistance this week before Sunday, as the second seed's first four matches had ended in straight sets. That wasn't the case in the final.

After Pennetta easily captured the first set, the eighth-seeded Suarez Navarro regrouped and won the second to move into a third set for her third straight match. Sunday's third set featured six breaks of serve, the last coming in the final game when Pennetta ended the two-hour match on her second match point.

Pennetta won the final four games of the match

"I just got the better of her at the end," said Pennetta. "I started well then got a bit tired, and Carla started playing more aggressively. I could have won it in two sets; I had to start all over again in the third, but from 3-all I played very well. I think Carla will have many chances to win this tournament though."

Pennetta, who earned a first prize of $37,000, improved to 2-1 lifetime against Suarez Navarro, including 2-0 this year. The Italian notched a straight-set win in Auckland. Suarez Navarro won the first matchup between the two at the 2008 French Open.