Lamens wins maiden title in Japan Open

AFP, Tokoyo :

Suzan Lamens of the Netherlands won her first WTA Tour title when she beat Australia’s Kimberly Birrell 6-0, 6-4 in the Japan Open final on Sunday.

In China, meanwhile, world number 11 Daria Kasatkina withstood a fight back from 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva to win the Ningbo Open 6-0, 4-6, 6-4 after an all-Russian final.

World number 125 Lamens made a terrific start in Osaka when she took the first set in just 21minutes.
The second was a tougher battle but the 25-year-old sealed the contest when Birrell hit a return wide on match point.

“It couldn’t have been better for me and I love to play here,” Lamens said.
Both semi-finals in Japan took place on Sunday morning after rain washed out Saturday.

At Ningbo, Kasatkina reeled off the first seven games in a row before her 19th-ranked opponent got on the scoreboard.

Andreeva levelled the match by breaking the 27-year-old Kasatkina at 5-4 in the second.
The teenager then stretched out to a 3-0 lead in the final set. As both players tired, Kasatkina battled back in a match of momentum shifts before falling to the floor in a mixture of elation and exhaustion as she clinched the title after 1hr 54min.

Andreeva burst into tears at the prize presentation ceremony and was consoled by her good friend and countrywomen Kasatkina.

“I saw you crying a lot, it’s okay, you’re gonna have a lot more finals,” Kasatkina told Andreeva.
“I hope we can share some of them.”