Ana Konjuh beats Monica Niculescu to win Nottingham Open
Monday 15 June 2015 14:49, UK
Croatian teenager Ana Konjuh won her first WTA tour title on Monday when she defeated Romania's Monica Niculescu 1-6 6-4 6-2 in the final in Nottingham.
The 17-year-old had to play twice on Sunday, winning a delayed quarter-final and then defeating fifth seed Alison Riske of the USA to reach the final, which was held over to Monday because of the rain hold-ups.
She looked understandably weary in the first set but fought back to win the title and is now closing on a first appearance in the world top 50.
Niculescu, who had beat the top seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the semi-finals, won five games in a row on her way to clinching a very one-sided opening set.
But the young Croatian hitter who is ranked 87th in the world prevailed in style to lift the inaugural Elena Baltacha Trophy which was named in the memory of the former women's British number one who died of cancer in 2014.
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