Bencic downs Radwanska in Eastbourne to claim maiden title

LONDON (Reuters) - Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic beat Agnieszka Radwanska in the final of the Eastbourne grasscourt tournament on Saturday to claim her first WTA title and become the youngest player since 2008 to clinch a premier-level trophy.

Bencic downs Radwanska in Eastbourne to claim maiden title

(Reuters)





Bencic, 18, romped through the deciding set to clinch the title with a 6-4 4-6 6-0 victory which further underlined her good form on grass ahead of Wimbledon which starts on Monday.

Bencic, ranked 31st in the world, reached the final of the Den Bosch event in the Netherlands at the start of the month. She will begin her Wimbledon campaign against Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova.

Radwanska, a former champion at Eastbourne and Wimbledon runner-up in 2012, collapsed in the final set having clawed her way back into the contest as her opponent played near flawless tennis.

"This is one of the biggest days of my life, it's a dream come true," Bencic said.

"I am so happy. It's incredible. I will never forget this."

At 18 years and 109 days, Bencic is the youngest player to win a premier-level title since Caroline Wozniacki won in New Haven almost seven years ago.

In the men's grasscourt event in Nottingham, Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin claimed his first ATP title by beating Sam Querrey of the United States 7-6(1) 7-6(6).

Istomin, ranked 92nd in the world, survived a second-set rally from Querrey who came back from 5-2 down to force a second tiebreak.

Istomin was broken twice while serving for the match at 5-2 and 5-4 and then lost five of the first six points in the tiebreak.

The Uzbek, however, won seven of the last eight points to take the trophy.





(Reporting by Toby Davis; editing by Ed Osmond)


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world