Brisbane: Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina got the perfect boost ahead of the Australian Open by lifting the Brisbane International women’s singles title with a 6-2, 6-1 win over qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich here, Saturday.
Svitolina, ranked sixth in the world, fired 10 aces and never faced a break point on the way to a 10th career tour title. She raced to a 3-0 lead before 23-year-old Belarusian Sasnovich found her range with some lethal backhands and briefly threatened to make it a contest.
Svitolina, however, unleashed a series of powerful groundstrokes to break again and clinch the first set, before running away with the second to claim the title in just over an hour.
Finalists spotted
Meanwhile top seed Caroline Wozniacki battled through two matches within the space of just over four hours to set up a final against second seed Julia Goerges at the Auckland Classic tennis tournament, Saturday.
The players had to a tough schedule as heavy rains throughout the week in Auckland had forced abandonment of play, Thursday and Friday.
Wozniacki struggled in her quarterfinal against the 19-year-old American wildcard Sofia Kenin before winning the rain-affected match 4-6, 6-2, 6-4. However, the semifinal against American qualifier Sachia Vickery was easier with the Dane winning 6-4, 6-4.
Goerges, who lost to American Sloane Stephens in the 2016 Auckland final, was far more comfortable in both of her matches. She beat Polona Hercog 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals before moving into the final with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei.
Agencies
