Czech teenager Lucie Safarova beat Italian fourth-seed Flavia Pennetta 6-3, 6-4 in the final of the Australian women's hardcourt championship at the Gold Coast on Saturday.

The 18-year-old Safarova, one of the most promising players on the circuit, upset her more fancied opponent to capture her third WTA title and the second on a hard court.

Safarova raced through the opening set in 33 minutes and then took 49 minutes to clinch the title.

Pennetta went into the final as the favourite after beating former world number one Martina Hingis on Friday but was unable to keep pace with the slightly built Safarova.