Kozlova denies Zvonareva Dalian title

Vera Zvonareva was unable to clinch victory in her first WTA Tour final since 2011 as Kateryna Kozlova claimed the Dalian Women's Open title with a straight-sets victory.

A former world number two, Zvonareva recently returned from a near two-year absence, which saw her become a mother and recover from past injury troubles.

The Russian earned the first break of Sunday's final, but Kozlova soon turned things round to triumph 6-4 6-2 and win the WTA 125K Series event.

Kozlova defeated top seed Duan Ying-ying in the quarter-finals and ends her week in China having not dropped a set.

Zvonareva can at least take comfort from knowing her ranking is set to rise. She began the event as the world number 623.