Svetlana Kuznetsova staged a stunning rally against Donna Vekic by fending off four match points to claim the WTA Citi Open.

Kuznetsova faced a straight-sets defeat in Washington, where seventh seed Vekic had four opportunities to reign supreme in the second set.

But two-time grand slam champion Kuznetsova never surrendered as the 33 year-old Russian completed a remarkable comeback 4-6 7-6 (9-7) 6-2.

The former world number two – who has fallen to 128th in the rankings due to injuries – faced a pair of match points as Vekic tried to close it out at 5-4 in the second.

Kuznetsova, however, saved both and survived another two in the tie-break as she forced a third and deciding set against the Croatian.

It was one-way traffic from that point, with Kuznetsova racing out to a 5-0 lead in the third before celebrating her 18th WTA title and first since Moscow 2016.