Australian Open champion Serena, who defeated 2008 French Open champion Ana Ivanovic of Serbia (pictured) 6-3 in her one-set semi-final, collected $400,000 in the first women's matches at the Garden since the 2000 WTA Championships.

Also read: Indian tennis at its healthiest: Sania

Venus, winner of her last two tournaments in Dubai and Acapulco, settled for $300,000. The reigning Wimbledon champion beat world number three Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 6-4 in her first match.

The Serbs got $250,000 each in the $1.2 million event.