Sakkari falls, 6-2, 7-5, at Ostrava Open final
Anett Kontaveit sealed a second title of the season as she overcame Maria Sakkari in straight sets at the Ostrava Open.
The unseeded Estonian, who is ranked 30th in the world, saw off fourth seed Sakkari 6-2 7-5 to claim the trophy in the Czech Republic.
Kontaveit has now won two tournaments in four weeks, having won in Cleveland last month to end a four-year wait since winning her first title in 2017.
This was Sakkari’s first final in over two years as well, but Kontaveit cruised past the Greek in just over an hour and a half as she did not drop a set all week.
That flawless level of tennis saw her eliminate Petra Kvitova, Paula Badosa and Belinda Bencic en route to the final, where the 25-year-old faced only one break point as she powered to a comfortable victory over a player who reached semi-finals at the French Open and US Open this year.
Sakkari managed more of a fight in the second set, where she battled for her sole break point, but Kontaveit breezed past any pressure and kept her serve to maintain control.
Sakkari, who is likely to move into the top 10 despite losing, had boasted a 5-3 head-to-head record in main-draw clashes between the pair coming into Sunday’s final, but 23 unforced errors outnumbered the 20 winners from her racket as Kontaveit collected her most notable title to date.
[DPA]
