Second-time lucky for Kasatkina as she wins Eastbourne WTA final / Photo: Glyn KIRK - AFP
Second-time lucky for Kasatkina as she wins Eastbourne WTA final
Daria Kasatkina won her first grass-court title by defeating Leylah Fernandez 6-3, 6-4 to win the Eastbourne International on Saturday a year after losing in the final of the WTA Tour event.
Victory saw the sixth-seeded Russian go one better on England's south coast after she was beaten in the 2023 showpiece match at Devonshire Park by Madison Keys -- who lost to Fernandez in the semi-finals of this year's Wimbledon warm-up event.
In defeating former US Open finalist Fernandez, world number 14 Kasatkina won her seventh career title and first since 2022 following three previous defeats in finals this season for the 27-year-old.
"It's been a year, but it feels like it's been a few days since last year when I was standing here," said Kasatkina, who beat Britain's Emma Raducanu -- Fernandez's conqueror in the 2021 US Open final -- on her way to Saturday's title match at Eastbourne.
W.Baert --JdB
