Petra Martic claimed her first WTA Tour title the hard way, battling back from a poor first set to beat Marketa Vondrousova at the Istanbul Cup.

Martic – ranked as low as 662 in the world two years ago following a back injury – lost the first five games to her teenage opponent but recovered impressively to triumph 1-6 6-4 6-1 on Sunday.

Vondrousova lost her opening service game in the second but had opportunities to hit back when her opponent was serving for the set, only to let slip three break points.

The decider was one-way traffic in Martic's favour, though, allowing the Croatian to clinch a maiden tournament win after one hour and 49 minutes on court.

"I loved being here, I loved every second," the newly crowned champion said in the post-match presentation, before thanking the crowd for their uplifting support.

"It felt like home – you guys were cheering me up. When I thought there was no chance for me to win, you kept on cheering. You really helped me get through this match."