Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit pulled off a remarkable comeback to beat Ekaterina Alexandrova and claim the VTB Kremlin Cup title in Moscow.
Alexandrova won the opening set and led 4-0 in the second before ninth seed Kontaveit stormed back to win 4-6 6-4 7-5 in two hours and 22 minutes.
“To go 4-0 down [in the second set], she was really hitting the balls down the line, she was playing amazing tennis,” Kontaveit said after securing her third title of the season.
“I was just trying to stay in it as long as I could and I never really gave up. I was just trying to fight for every point as much as I could. If I would have lost 6-4 6-2 or whatever, I knew I tried everything.
“When these moments happen, which they do happen, I’m just trying to think about the process and not too much of the score, which can be difficult, of course.
“I think that the main thing is to try and think about the process and what I have to do, and not focus on other things that you cannot control.”
American Ann Li won her first WTA title with a straight-sets victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio in the inaugural Tenerife Ladies Open.
Li won 6-1 6-4 in an hour and 10 minutes to deny her 19-year-old opponent a second title of the year.
The 21-year-old lost her serve in the opening game of the match before reeling off the next six games and secured what proved to be the decisive break at 2-2 in the second.
