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Serena Williams reacts after winning a point against Angelique Kerber, of Germany, during the championship match of the Bank of the West Classic tennis tournament on Sunday, Aug. 3, 2014, in Stanford, Calif. Williams beat the left-handed Kerber, winning her third Bank of the West Classic title.Marcio Jose Sanchez/The Associated Press

Serena Williams won her WTA-leading fourth title of the season Sunday, beating third-seeded Angelique Kerber 7-6(1), 6-3 in the Bank of the West Classic.

The top-ranked and top-seeded Williams won the hard-court event for the third time.

Williams will be No. 1 for the 200th week in her career when the rankings are announced Monday. She is fifth on the career list, nine weeks behind fourth-place Martina Hingis.

Williams beat the left-handed Kerber for the fourth straight time and fifth time in six overall meetings. All of their matches have been in straight sets.

Kerber, 0-4 in finals this season, won five straight games to go up 5-1 and was serving for the first set at 5-2. Williams saved two set points and went on a five-game run of her own.

The eighth-ranked Kerber forced a tiebreaker, where Williams took charge with five straight points to open.

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