China's Zheng Saisai accomplished yet another giant-killing act as she clinched her maiden career WTA title with a stunning straight sets victory over Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic at the San Jose State University Tennis Center in San Jose on Sunday.

The Roland Garros women's doubles runner-up knocked off eighth-seeded American Danielle Collins in the second round and outclassed fourth-seeded U.S. teen Amanda Anisimova in a three-set quarter-final marathon. Then, she stunned seventh-seeded Maria Sakkari in straight sets to line up a title clash with second-seeded Sabalenka. The unseeded Zheng, who also beat Sabalenka in their only other career meeting, showcased a solid serving performance to defeat her formidable opponent from Belarus 6-3, 7-6 (7/3).

Buoyed by her sublime form throughout the tournament and a spree of giant-slaying acts, the Chinese player came out all guns blazing as she started her maiden WTA Premier event final on a positive note. Her powerful serves and accurate returns helped her break her rival a couple of times in the first set which she eventually won without burning much sweat.

However, a gritty Sabalenka clawed her way back into the match in the second set and took the set to tiebreaker. But an erratic Sabalenka was no match for Zheng's superb services and disciplined display as the latter bagged the tiebreaker 7-3 to seal her maiden final as well as the biggest title in her career on the WTA Tour. Interestingly, she won the final without being broken in the one hour, 45 minute match and won 72 percent of her first serve points compared to 52 percent for Sabalenka.

After her win, the 25-year-old Chinese champion said, "I don't have so much experience because it is the first time for me. I am very excited about how I played the whole week. Five years ago I got my first WTA singles win here and now I win my first title here," a visibly elated Zheng added.

Meanwhile, praising her opponent, 21-year-old Sabalenka, who was playing in her first final since winning the Shenzhen Open in China in January, mentioned, "She played great tennis." The Belarussian lost in the first round of qualifying at this event last year but then accomplished a streak of good performances that saw her soar from 36th to her current No. 10 ranking.