Top seed Chanda Rubin fulfilled expectations by winning the Madrid 2012 Spanish Open, but she made hard work of the final against Spaniard Maria Antonia Sanchez-Lorenzo.

America's world number eight Rubin eventually won 6-4 5-7 6-4 against 84th-ranked Sanchez in a match lasting two hours and 11 minutes.

After taking the first set 6-4 with the only break, Rubin appeared to be heading for a straightforward victory after she broke Sanchez to love in the third and the fifth games of the second set.

However, her game briefly went to pieces, allowing Sanchez to break her four times, to take the set and level the match.

The third set could have gone either way, but games went with serve until Rubin broke Sanchez's serve in the seventh game.

Sanchez then broke straight back, but was unable to hang on as Rubin then took the ninth game and served out for the match.

The win compensates for the defeat Rubin suffered in the final last year against Monica Seles and the week on clay should set her up nicely for next week's French Open.