Smashnova beats Kournikova in Shanghai final

Anna Smashnova dashed Anna Kournikova's hopes of a first WTA singles title, with a 6-2 6-3 victory in the Shanghai Open final.

Kournikova foundered on unforced errors, repeatedly hitting balls too long from the baseline and missing key net shots.

Smashnova, who is ranked 19th in the world, broke Kournikova's serve in the first game, and then easily held her own serve.

It wasn't until the third game of the first set that Kournikova managed to score a point.

Kournikova was after her first singles title in 115 WTA tournaments, since she turned pro in 1995. It was her first singles final since 2000.

The Russian beat Smashnova in their last two matches, most recently last month in the Acura Classic in California.

But the Israeli's superior experience seemed to pay off. This is her sixth WTA title since turning pro in 1991.

Kournikova will reappear later on Sunday with Janet Lee for the doubles final. They will face top-seeds Ai Sugiyama and Rika Fujiwara.