Busca downs Frech to lift first WTA title in Merida

Spain's Cristina Bucsa captured her first WTA title on Sunday, beating Poland's Magdalena Frech 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in the final of the hardcourt tournament in Merida, Mexico.

The 63rd-ranked Bucsa was coming off her first career win over a top-10 player with her semi-final triumph over seventh-ranked Jasmine Paolini. She had reached the second final of her career without dropping a set.

She was on fire to start, winning the first three games and bouncing back from a break in the fourth game to win the next three as Frech struggled for consistency.

As Frech stepped things up in the second set Bucsa's errors multiplied and she quickly found herself down two breaks at 0-3 to the 57th-ranked Pole, who leveled the match with authority but was broken in the fourth game of the third.

Bucsa was broken as she served for the match in the ninth game, but she put it away in the next with the aid of two gutsy volley winners and two double faults from Frech.

Agence France-Presse