Venus Williams defeats Misaki Doi 6-4, 6-2 in Inaugural Taiwan Open to capture her 49th WTA singles title

It’s Valentine’s Day in the United States, and while lots of women are receiving flowers, Venus Williams collected her 49th WTA title and a check for $500,000, by defeating Japan’s Misaki Doi 6-4, 6-2 at the inaugural Taiwan Open on Sunday.

The former No. 1 and seven-time grand slam winner, who exited in the first round of the Australian Open, felt lucky in Asia.

"I've had so much success in Asia," Williams said after the match, having won her past two titles in China. "I feel like it's very lucky to play here."

"The last five days were so exciting, just to feel the enthusiasm and to play great tennis every day," Williams added. "It was a perfect week for me, and the tournament did an amazing job with everything. The players and fans felt so welcome, so it was perfect."

With Venus Williams’ 49th career women’s singles title, she is now seventh on the all-time tournament victories list for Women’s singles; and she is within striking distance of Monica Seles (53) and Lindsay Davenport (55).

Doi, who was playing Venus Williams for the first time, was bidding for her second WTA career title following last year's win in Luxembourg.