INDIAN WELLS — Vera Zvonareva was still playing out the points in her mind an hour after winning the BNP Paribas Open, attempting to grasp the significance of the biggest victory of her career.

“It's amazing,” she said. “It's a great feeling to win such a big event, and I think I'm still a little bit into the match, into the crazy wind, and I'm still not realizing it. But definitely tomorrow I would look back, I would say, ‘Yeah, I did a great job.' ”

The fourth-seeded Zvonareva defeated No. 5 seed Ana Ivanovic 7-6 (5), 6-2 in the women's final of the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday, overcoming gusty, swirling winds to cap off her most successful tournament ever.

The 24-year-old Russian had to fight through a competitive first set to claim the title. Trailing 6-5 and serving, Zvonareva fended off three set points before forcing a tiebreaker, which she won 7-5 after Ivanovic committed three consecutive unforced errors with her forehand. Zvonareva then cruised in the second set, winning six consecutive games after falling behind 2-0.

With the swirling wind changing in intensity throughout the match, Ivanovic was never comfortable on the court. With the trajectory of every shot difficult to judge, she questioned her tactics.

“It was very much in doubt whether I should still go for my shots or just try to make her play because the conditions were very hard,” Ivanovic said.

While Ivanovic was more willing to take risks and go for winners, Zvonareva was more content to shape her game to the conditions. Ivanovic had 29 winners to Zvonareva's five, but that advantage was offset by the Serb's 46 unforced errors.

“Even though I had some mistakes and some frustrating points with the wind, I was still trying to put as many balls as I can in the court,” said Zvonareva, who had 23 errors.

Countering the wind with consistency, Zvonareva broke through against Ivanovic.

“I think it means a lot because I've been so close to such a big title quite a few times last year,” she said.

Before taking out Ivanovic, Zvonareva had been 0-7 in finals against players ranked in the top 10, including a defeat to Ivanovic, last year.

“I think I'm more experienced and mature right now,” Zvonareva said. “Maybe I wasn't ready for this kind of title a few years ago.”

Zvonareva will try to carry her confidence to even more illustrious tournaments.

“The future will show what I can do in the Slams, but it will definitely give me more experience,” Zvonareva said. “I will definitely know better how I have to prepare myself for these big matches.”