Kiki Bertens
Kiki Bertens

Kiki Bertens gets the better of Donna Vekic to win in Russia


Kiki Bertens staged a strong comeback to win her eighth career WTA title with victory over Donna Vekic in the St Petersburg Ladies Trophy.

The second seed trailed Vekic by 5-2 and a double break in the opener but rallied to take the set on a tie-break and ultimately go on to seal a 7-6 (2) 6-4 win.

It was an impressive response from Bertens against a player who had shown few signs of nerves in what was the first major final of her career.

The 22-year-old Vekic dominated the opening exchanges but Bertens banked on her experience to steer the set into a tie-break, which she dominated to take the initiative.

Bertens moved closer to the title as she established a double break lead of her own in the second set, only for Vekic to claim one of the breaks back and keep the match alive.

But Bertens responded by breaking again, the Dutch star subsequently going on to serve out for the title on her fourth match point.

Teenager Dayana Yastremska fought back from 5-2 down in the deciding set to beat Ajla Tomljanovic and win her second career title at the inaugural Thailand Open.

The eighth seed cruised through the first set but looked to be heading for defeat until she rallied late on to claim a thrilling 6-2 2-6 7-6 (3) victory.

Yastremska credited her resolve to a recent incident in which her mother suffered an eye injury caused by an exploding champagne bottle at the Australian Open.

She told a press conference: "I was trying to do the same things as I was doing in the first set, but it's just feeling like you're empty, completely empty.

"But in the third set when I was losing 5-2, I remembered one thing, which happened before this tournament, and it really helped me go through and take extra power, and finish with a win. This win is for my mother."