Teenager Jelena Dokic claimed her first career title by defeating in-form Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo in the final of the Italian Open.

Dokic, who dumped her Australian citizenship this year to play for Yugoslavia, overcame Mauresmo, a winner at last week's German Open, 7-6 6-1.

The 14th-seeded Dokic kept her cool throughout the first set, winning the tiebreak 7-3, as Mauresmo's usually steady groundstrokes faltered.

The 21-year-old Frenchwoman, who was seeded number four, crumbled in the second set, sending shots repeatedly wide or into the net, as light rain fell on the Foro Italico centre court.

"I'd like to thank my family - my dad, my mother and my brother," Dokic said in accepting the silver winner's trophy.

Dokic's father, Admire, recently returned to coach his daughter after being banned from the tour following confrontations at last year's Wimbledon and US Open tournaments.

The loss ends a nine-match winning streak for Mauresmo, whose record this year remains a tour-best 31-3, with four titles.

Mauresmo tired

Following the match, Mauresmo said a tough two-set semi-final win over top-seeded Martina Hingis may have been too draining.

"I was tired," she said after the match. "Losing that first set was really tough...I just didn't feel I could come back from that."

Mauresmo made it to the finals by beating Hingis 6-4 7-6 on Saturday.

Dokic toppled third-seeded Conchita Martinez, her doubles partner and a four-time Italian Open champion.