Venus Williams rallied to win the WTA's Sony Ericsson Champion-ships for the first time, defeating Vera Zvonareva 6-7 (5), 6-0, 6-2 yesterday at the season-ending event.

The Wimbledon champion found her rhythm and took command in the last two sets with powerful serving, smashes and aggressive groundstrokes against her Russian opponent.

"I'm so excited," Williams said. "That was a hard-fought match, every point, right down to the end."

Williams won $1.34 million (1.05 million euros) at the event, which for the first time offered the same prize money as the men at the ATP's season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai.

Presentation

The First Lady of Qatar, a conservative Muslim sheikdom, presented the trophy to Williams, shaking her hand and kissing her on both cheeks. Sheika Mozah bint Nasser al-Missned wore a traditional black head scarf and robe.

"Thanks to your Royal Highness for coming. Wow!" Williams said.

Such a public appearance by a ruler's wife is unusual in the region. Billie Jean King sat with Mozah and other dignitaries during the match and joined Williams on the court for the awards ceremony. The trophy is named for King.

Lowest-ranked players

Williams' ranking will improve to No. 6 from No. 8, while the ninth-ranked Zvonareva also will move up two spots. The two were the lowest-ranked players at the event, which featured the top eight players in the world.

Williams, who lost in their first meeting at the 2003 French Open, now holds a 6-1 record against Zvonareva.

"She stayed aggressive," said Zvonareva, who qualified for the championships in 2004 but did not win a match. "In the second and third, she was dictating."

Williams' career earnings rose to $21,921,346.