Former world number four Magdalena Maleeva completed her own 'grand slam' on Sunday by winning on grass for the first time in her 15-year career.

In lifting the DFS Classic in Birmingham, the 28-year-old Bulgarian went one better than sister Manuela, who was beaten in the 1986 final by Pam Shriver, and has now won a title on every surface.

The number three seed beat surprise finalist Shinobu Asagoe, of Japan, 6-1 6-4 in just 65 minutes to warm up in the perfect manner for Wimbledon, where she has reached the fourth round in each of the last two years.

"The first set was flawless," she said. "You don't play very often like that. I made more mistakes in the second set but I still won the important points.

"I came with no expectations and I didn't touch a racket for a week after the French Open.

"My win in Moscow last year was the best of my career because I beat three of the top eight players in the world but this would have to be one of my most satisfying because it means I have won on a tournament on every surface.

"It's really nice to know I can play on all surfaces. I did better than Manuela so I'm happy about that."

Maleeva's three previous matches had all gone to three sets but she dominated the final from the very first game, mixing up her game to telling effect in the warm sunshine.

Asagoe, appearing in her first final a month before her 27th birthday, had no answer to her opponent's rasping forehands and crisp returns.

The first set was all over in 23 minutes but the Japanese girl, ranked 103 in the world at the start of the week, made a better fist of the second set.

Maleeva began to show signs of easing up and, had Asagoe managed to take the match into a third set, the outcome might have been different but she failed to make the most of three breaks in the sixth and eighth games.

Asagoe, the first unseeded finalist in Edgbaston for 11 years, managed to save two match points but the end came all too predictably as she failed to get a full racket to a fierce Maleeva serve.

"She's very strong on grass," admitted Asagoe. "I could not play my tennis today. I tried to come to the net but she was very aggressive."

At least Asagoe did enough to climb into the top 80, overtaking Saori Obata and Akiko Morigami to become Japan's second-best player behind Ai Sugiyama and has now set her sights on the top 50.

Maleeva, meanwhile, will head for the Hastings Direct International in Eastbourne on Monday having climbed back up to 12th and pocketed 16,100 pounds for the 10th win of her career.

She dropped out of the top 100 after being sidelined through shoulder surgery for 18 months in 1998 but she has her sights fixed firmly on Wimbledon, convinced she is playing the best tennis of her life.

"I think I am a better player than when I was in the top five," she said. "I have a better understanding and more variety in my game than 10 years ago.

"I am also fitter. I can last in pretty long matches and I don't get injured any more.

"I don't mind grass. I've done well at Wimbledon in the past and I could do anything. I could lose in the first round or I could go pretty far. I know I can compete with the best."