Serena Williams beats Angelique Kerber in Stanford final

Williams' win marked her 61st tournament success on the WTA Tour

World number one Serena Williams recovered from a slow start to beat Germany's Angelique Kerber in the Bank of the West Classic final in Stanford.

The American, playing her first event since recovering from a virus, defeated the third seed 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 to register her fourth title of 2014.

Kerber was more than a match for the top seed in the first set, moving into a 5-1 lead.

But Williams, 32, powered back to claim her third title at this event.

Kerber was left to rue failing to press home her first-set advantage, which also saw her spurn two set-point chances at 5-2 up.

Williams said: "I've been training hard all year and hopefully that pays off, especially after Wimbledon.

"This shows I'm moving in the right direction."

Elsewhere, Milos Raonic won the Citi Open in Washington by beating Vasek Pospisil 6-1 6-4 in the first all-Canadian final in ATP history.

In the women's final, Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova won her first WTA title in four years with a 6-3 4-6 6-4 victory over Japan's Kurumi Nara.