KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- Johanna Konta lofted a lob off the baseline for a winner on championship point, waited for instant replay to confirm the call and even then hesitated to celebrate the biggest title of her 11-year career.
"To be honest, I actually couldn't kind of believe it was over," she said with a grin.
Seeded 10th, Konta was an unlikely champion, but the Australian-born Briton beat Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-3 in Saturday's final at the Miami Open.
Konta, a late bloomer at 25, improved to 19-3 this year and will climb to a career-high No. 7 next week. She was the first British woman to reach a Key Biscayne final, a tournament she was unable to qualify for two years ago.
"On paper it looks like a quick turnaround," she said. "But it definitely has been a lot of years and a long time coming."
The more aggressive player in the final, Konta finished with 33 winners, compared with eight for the 12th-seeded Wozniacki. Konta showed her versatility on the final point, drawing Wozniacki to the net with a drop shot and then floating a lob off the back of the line for the clincher.
Konta received $1.18 million. Her other titles came at Sydney this year and Stanford in 2016.
"She's very aggressive," Wozniacki said. "She takes the ball early and stresses the opponent."
Both finalists benefited from the absence of eight-time champion Serena Williams, who missed the tournament because of a knee injury.