Rybarikova lifts maiden title

Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia clinched her first WTA title after beating China's Li Na 6-0 7-6 in the final of the AEGON Classic.

Sharapova conqueror has no answer to young Slovak

Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia clinched her first WTA title after beating China's Li Na 6-0 7-6 in the final of the AEGON Classic. The 20-year-old raced through the first set against the fourth seed, who overcame Maria Sharapova in the semi-final. But Li hit back in the second set as both players held their serve all the way to the pivotal tie-break. Rybarikova, seeded 13th, once again had the upper hand as she cruised through the breaker 7-2 to wrap up victory in 73 minutes. "I won the first set so easily but the second was so tough as she started to play so much better," Rybarikova said. "I was very nervous in the tie-break but she looked more nervous than me, so that helped me concentrate even harder. "Winning today is the best feeling of my career so far. It's unbelievable, just like a dream. "I was so happy that she (Li) beat Sharapova as she is such a great player and I am not sure I could have beat her today." Victory will take Rybarikova from 58th in the world rankings to a career high of 42 when they are updated on Monday.