Venus Williams claimed her third singles title of 2007 on Sunday after battling past Maria Kirilenko in the final of the Korea Open.

The top-seeded American, who has won six grand slams and is the reigning Wimbledon champion, had to dig deep against the fourth-seeded Russian to clinch a 6-3 1-6 6-4 result.

Neither player had dropped a set on route to the final in Seoul, but with the match level at one-set all, it was Williams who claimed the decisive break in the third to see off her opponent in two hours and 21 minutes.

Williams now holds a 3-0 record against Kirilenko and picked up her 36th singles title on the WTA Tour.