Caroline Wozniacki beat Kristina Mladenovic 6-1 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 to win the WTA Hong Kong Open title after a battle of wills that lasted almost three hours.
Denmark's Wozniacki, the fifth seed, stormed the first set 6-1 with unseeded Mladenovic visibly despondent and limping slightly.
However, the 23-year-old Frenchwoman emerged for the second set with her right leg bandaged and with renewed focus, forcing Wozniacki to dive around the court with a combination of drop shots and powerful drives.
But a determined Wozniacki finally sealed victory in the third set as a tired Mladenovic failed to match her power and consistency, slipping to a 5-0 deficit before losing the set 6-2.
"I'm really pleased with my week this week, there was some good tennis and long battles," said Wozniacki after her victory.
The Dane revealed the final had been a mental battle, as it was unclear to her how badly Mladenovic was hurt.
"It wasn't easy mentally because sometimes she would look like she couldn't play, and then she would run like Speedy Gonzalez - clearly it's not that bad if you can run side to side. There was definitely a mental game. I just happened to win it," she said.
Wozniacki also won the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo last month which was her first tournament triumph since February 2015.
Mladenovic had been aiming for a first WTA title in the third final of her career.
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