Ningbo: Daria Kasatkina won her second title of the season, defeating Russian compatriot Mirra Andreeva 6-0, 4-6, 6-4 in a tight final at the Ningbo Open on Sunday.
Eastbourne champion Kasatkina started the match very dominantly, capitalizing on 17-year-old Andreeva’s nerves. But the younger one regained the balance in the second set as Kasatkina came undone and took the match to the decider with a backhand error from world number 11.
In the decider, Andreeva seized 3-0 lead, but Kasatkina managed to get back to level as Andreeva’s unforced errors increased and so did her wins – sealing the eighth title of her career.
Victory will see her break into the world’s top 10 on Monday, with Andreeva comprehensively beaten in a tearful defeat that had her in such pain she wept uncontrollably during the last-ditch attempt to turn matters around in the second set. She missed out on her second title this year, after the earlier triumph in Iasi, Romania.