Yastremska clinches Thailand Open title

Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska won the Thailand Open on Sunday with a hard-fought victory, battling past Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (7/3).The overtime thriller in the seaside city of Hua Hin gave the 18-year-old her second WTA title.

After dominating the first set, eighth seed Yastremska faced some strong returns from the 25-year-old Tomljanovic, who took the second set to level the match.A fierce rally in the final moments of the third set pushed the final into a tie-breaker.

Yastremska sealed her win with a searing forehand after a tense two hours and 22 minutes.The Ukrainian teen burst into tears and collapsed on the floor, and then put her hands together in a traditional Thai greeting to acknowledge the cheering crowd.

“I was always trying to play the same as you,” she said to Tomljanovic in the post-match interview.The 47th-ranked Yastremska dedicated her win to her mother, who had to return to Ukraine for an operation.

The victory capped an impressive run in the inaugural $250 000 tournament for Yastremska, who dispatched top seed Garbine Muguruza in the quarterfinals.

Both finalists – who first faced each other in the China Open qualifiers last year – were in top form in Thailand, not dropping a set until the final.

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