Williams triumphs in Miami

Capriati wilted in the Miami heat

Nasdaq-100 Open final: Serena Williams beat Jennifer Capriati 7-5 7-6.

Serena Williams has won the Nasdaq-100 Open with a blistering but erratic performance against Jennifer Capriati.

The younger of the Williams sisters produced a supremely aggressive display in Saturday's 122-minute final as she triumphed 7-5 7-6 against the world number one in a see-saw match.

Williams, who will move up to seventh in the world rankings following her win, took her opportunites more readily in the match than Capriati, who struggled to contend with the searing heat.

Williams served powerfully, and made her fellow American work harder across the court with her well-timed groundstrokes.

I gave all I had, but I don't know how much more I had

Jennifer Capriati

Williams said after sealing the tiebreak and the match: "I just told myself to take them (the points) one at a time.

"It was two hours of unbelievable tennis."

It had looked on course to be a tense match throughout the first set with both players breaking each other twice early on.

Capriati, though, finally crumbled while 6-5 down.

Serving to stay in the set, the American could not cope with the power of Williams' groundstrokes and eventually gifted the set with a double fault.

Conceding that deficit so readily seemed to give Capriati the missing edge, as she charged to a 2-0 lead with an early break in the second set.

Her opponent struggled to cut that advantage, which was held until the ninth game when Capriati once more buckled under the pressure.

Williams played the more aggressive tennis

Serving to round off the set at 5-4, the world number one netted a simple forehand and unleashed a double fault to allow Williams back into the set.

Despite the slip, Capriati still looked capable of levelling the match when she broke back for a 6-5 lead.

But once again Williams was not finished, taking the match to a tiebreak in which she lifted her power play still further for a 7-4 win.

Capriati said: "I gave all I had, but I don't know how much more I had.

"It was the windiest day all week and there was dust blowing, conditions were a little difficult."

Williams' victory continued her family's domination of this event.

Venus won the title in 1998, 1999 and again last year.