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Serena cruises to first title of the year

Serena Williams holds the trophy aloft © Getty Images

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Former world No. 1 Serena Williams barely raised a sweat as she cantered to the 40th WTA title of her career with victory at the Family Circle Cup.

Williams thrashed Lucie Safarova 6-0 6-1 in the decider, showing the power and ruthless attitude which has taken her to the top of women's tennis. Indeed, victory at the Charleston event lifts Williams to No. 9 in the world rankings as she continues to recover from the injuries which have hampered her in recent years.

The 13-time grand slam winner gave her Czech opponent no chance on Sunday, clocking 27 winners en route to her first crown of 2012, Safarova appearing daunted by her more experienced opponent. Williams dominance in the final punctuated a remarkable week in which she did not have her serve broken in her final four matches.

Safarova, though, did have the opportunity to break in the third and fifth game of the opening set, but failed to take advantage as Williams' big-match ability told. Ultimately, Safarova won her only game of the match in the second set courtesy of a forehand winner.

It only delayed the inevitable, however, as Williams completed victory with a thumping ace to move to within three tournament wins of sister Venus, who is also back on the recovery trail after a series of injuries and illnesses.

"I've never played, I can say, consistently at such a high level with low errors the last two matches," Williams said.

"I really feel like, hopefully, I'll remember this so I can play like this more often. And the scary thing is I could've served so much better."

Williams will now take brief break before moving on to events in Spain and Italy in the lead-up to the second grand slam of the year at the French Open.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.