Wang's dream run in Berlin comes to end at final hurdle, Vondrousova takes title
Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova needed three sets to beat Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu on Sunday and win the Berlin Open title, completing an improbable run to her first trophy since her London triumph two years ago.
The 25-year-old Czech, ranked 164th in the world after an injury-plagued 12 months and featuring in her first final since winning Wimbledon two years ago, saved six setpoints in a tight first set tiebreak.
The 23-year-old Wang showed few nerves on her maiden singles tour final, and levelled after breaking her opponent once in the second set.
But Vondrousova, who also beat Australian Open champion Madison Keys in the first round and world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-final in Berlin, raced back with two breaks of her own to go 4-1 up in the decider.
She then played a perfect service game at 5-2, with a superb dropshot, a crosscourt backhand winner and powerful forehand that forced an error by Wang on the first match point.
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Wang's dream run in Berlin comes to end at final hurdle, Vondrousova takes title
Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova needed three sets to beat Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu on Sunday and win the Berlin Open title, completing an improbable run to her first trophy since her London triumph two years ago. The 25-year-old Czech, ranked 164th in the world after an injury-plagued 12 months and featuring in her first final since winning Wimbledon two years ago, saved six setpoints in a tight first set tiebreak. The 23-year-old Wang showed few nerves on her maiden singles tour final, and levelled after breaking her opponent once in the second set. But Vondrousova, who also beat Australian Open champion Madison Keys in the first round and world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-final in Berlin, raced back with two breaks of her own to go 4-1 up in the decider. She then played a perfect service game at 5-2, with a superb dropshot, a crosscourt backhand winner and powerful forehand that forced an error by Wang on the first match point.
