Yastremska battles past Tomljanovic to clinch Thailand Open
- Last updated: February 8, 2019 | 19:01
Hua Hin (Thailand): 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 quarter-finals.
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.
Agence France-Presse