Although it was far from a simple affair, Angelique Kerber managed to overcome a surging talent to win one of the biggest title of her career on Sunday at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston.

Having dropped out of the Top 10 on the world tour over the past few months, and with just two wins in her last eight matches, few anticipated that the German No. 2 would be capable of such a strong week on the clay. However, following an impressive week, she managed to overcome a rollercoaster match to beat Madison Keys 6-2, 4-6, 7-5. She also had to rally from a 4-1 deficit in the final set in order to overcome the American.

“It’s unbelievable,” Kerber said. “To win here after the really difficult weeks I had, I’m feeling great. Last year I had four finals and I didn’t win any of them, so it’s great that I actually won this one today. “It’s just been a great week for me here. Everybody is so nice, and I’m really happy about my game.”

It was a tough loss for Madison, who was within two games of victory at one point and was unable to capitalize on her momentum. She now falls to 1-3 against Kerber in their head-to-head series.

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“Coming off tough losses at Indian Wells and Miami, I’m happy I kept a great attitude this week, and I was just fighting as hard as I could today. I could have gone either way after the first set, but I dug deep and still put myself in a position to win. But she just wasn’t making any mistakes at the end.”