Minnen wins first WTA 125 title at Lexus Birmingham Open

South Wales Argus

a day ago

Greet Minnen put a difficult run behind her with a sterling victory over Linda Fruhvirtova in the Lexus Birmingham Open women's singles final.
Minnen won her first WTA 125 title with a 6-2 6-1 win over Fruhvirtova in her second match of a rain-affected final day.
The fifth seed had twice tasted defeat at this level but blew her Czech opponent away to lift the trophy.
"It's a wonderful moment, it hasn't been easy the last few years, I haven't played a lot finals," Minnen said.
"To be here, to win a final on the grass is the best I could hope for honestly.
"It's been a tough week with all the rain, for everybody involved in the tournament, thanks to everyone for helping out.
"I know it's not easy with the weather, I don't know how I pulled it off, let's not think about it and enjoy it."
The Belgian took both break-point opportunities she had in the first set to move into a commanding position.
Fruhvirtova broke in the first game of the second set, her first break of the day, but Minnen immediately responded and it was one-way traffic from there as Minnen closed out the match with six straight games.
Minnen had earlier ground out a 6-3 7-6 (7) 7-6 (5) semi-final win over Rebeka Masarova of Switzerland, which had been played over two days.
Fruhvirtova said: "It was a great week for me, of course I am disappointed it didn't go the way I had hoped today.
"I have to give credit Greet today, she was too good. But overall, it was a positive week for me.
"I had two season without a final and this is my second this season so I just have to appreciate it, it means a lot to me."
Finland's Otto Virtanen timed his men's singles triumph to perfection as he beat Colton Smith 6-4 6-4.
Virtanen earned the only break of the opening set at 5-4 and then held his nerve when Smith took a 3-0 lead in the second.
The World No. 114 broke back immediately before again breaking to move 5-4 ahead and close out the match.
Victory was Virtanen's first title on grass, with Smith also playing in his first grass court final.
'It feels amazing, playing on grass, I don't think we have a single grass court in Finland,' Virtanen said.
'But I have always liked the surface, I played juniors on it, but then in the last two or three years too. I always enjoy playing a grass tournament.
'It suits my game as well. It feels great to win a lot of good matches, and today I played a good match from my side.
'He put me in really tough situations, and so I had to do my best on very important points."
Smith had beaten third seed Rinky Hijikata 6-3 6-4 earlier in the day to advance to the showpiece.
The American said: 'I just want to thank the city of Birmingham for coming out to support. This has been an unforgettable week for me.
'It is fun, I am looking forward to keep building from here. I just want to thank my family and everybody else that has been supporting me, it has been incredible.
'I would probably say grass is now one of my favourite surfaces.'
Marcelo Demoliner and Sadio Doumbia triumphed in a disrupted men's doubles final, beating Diego Hidalgo and Patrick Trhac 6-4 3-6 10-5.
The match had been due to take place on Saturday but was pushed back due to rain, and the wet weather interrupted the final with Demoliner and Doumbia 6-4 2-3 ahead.
Trhac and Hidalgo took advantage of the delay to immediately break Demoliner and Doumbia on the restart and held on to their advantage to ensure a Championship tie-break.
With the pairs locked at 5-5 all, the fourth seeds reeled off five points on the bounce to claim the title.
For 36-year-old Demoliner, it marks a first Challenger win since 2009, while Doumbia extended his record in Challengers finals to 19-0.
For the latest action on the British summer grass court season, check out the LTA website