Britain's Johanna Konta overpowered Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 6-2 in a one-sided victory in the final of the Sydney International on Friday to claim her second career WTA title.
The Sydney-born world number 10 reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open last year and will be a major threat again next week going by her form in this week's warm-up.
The 25-year-old had lost both her previous meetings with 2013 champion Radwanska but simply brushed aside the world number three with a 82-minute display of aggression and power at the Olympic Tennis Centre.
Konta overcame a string of unforced errors to win the first set when her Polish opponent sent a return wide after 45 minutes before whipping through the second, sealing the victory with a seventh ace on her second championship point.
Goffin wins one-set shootout to retain Kooyong crown
Belgium's David Goffin retained his Kooyong Classic title in almost farcical circumstances on Friday when he beat Ivo Karlovic 7-2 in a tiebreaker after the final of the Australian warm-up was reduced to a one-set shootout.
Goffin, who will be the 11th seed at MelbournePark next week, wrapped up the title when his tall Croatian opponent went long with a service return after 32 minutes of a contest curtailed by wet weather.
Both players and the umpire appeared confused as to what to do next when the set reached 6-6 but after a brief negotiation, they proceeded to play the tiebreak with the Belgian quickly taking a 5-0 lead.
It was a rare half an hour without rain on Friday in the Melbourne suburb, which has hosted the exhibition event since the Australian Open moved from Kooyong to the centre of the city in the late 1980s.
Sock to face Sousa in Auckland
Fourth seed Jack Sock overcame fellow American Steve Johnson 6-4, 6-3 with a patient game plan on Friday to set up an Auckland Classic final against Portugal's Joao Sousa.
The 24-year-old Sock, last year's beaten finalist in New Zealand's largest city, broke once in the first set and twice in the second against his seventh-seeded opponent, though neither player really settled into their serve throughout the match.
Sock had the better all-round game though, controlling the tempo of most rallies and dominating at the net, and said he was growing in confidence ahead of next week's Australian Open.
Sock clinched victory in 71 minutes with a running forehand pass to break Johnson for the second time in the second set and advance to the final against Sousa, who had dismantled former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis 6-1, 7-5.
Muller ends Troicki bid for Sydney hat-trick
Gilles Muller rode his big serve to a 6-3, 7-6(6) victory over defending champion Viktor Troicki in the semi-finals of the Sydney International on Friday, ending the Serb's hopes of an unprecedented third straight title.
It was third time lucky for the 33-year-old lefthander from Luxembourg, who had reached the last four for a third year in a row, and he will face Dan Evans or Andrey Kuznetsov looking for his maiden ATP title on Saturday.
Muller started well and wrapped up the opening set in half an hour with an uncompromising forehand smash.
Troicki stepped up his game and the second set was a much tighter affair but Muller saved the two break points he faced to take it to a tiebreaker.
The third-seeded Serb saved the first match point he faced when Muller netted a return but the world number 34 would not be denied on his second, powering down his 16th ace of the contest to reach the final.
British world number 67 Evans stunned top seed and world number eight Dominic Thiem in the quarter-finals to set up his clash with Russian Kuznetsov, the final match of the day at the Olympic Tennis Centre.
