Daria Kasatkina celebrates first grass-court title with Eastbourne win over Leylah Fernandez
The No. 6 seed snapped a five-match losing streak in WTA finals Saturday as a result.
A year after finishing runner-up in Eastbourne, Daria Kasatkina is taking home the trophy she was looking for.
On Saturday, the No. 6 seed ended a near two-year title drought by defeating Leylah Fernandez, 6-3, 6-4. The victory marked Kasatkina’s seventh career WTA triumph and first on grass courts.
The world No. 14 led from the beginning after breaking Fernandez to start the contest. The left-hander battled back in the second set, turning an 0-3 deficit into a 4-3 break advantage.
Kasatkina would not be denied however, as she twice broke at love during one final momentum swing. She clinched the final when Fernandez pushed a backhand up the line long.
The 27-year-old snapped a five-match losing streak in championship matches that saw her drop 10 consecutive sets, all at the 500 level. Kasatkina previously reached finals this season in Adelaide, Abu Dhabi and Charleston and vaults to No. 8 in the race to the WTA Finals thanks to her title run here.
Fernandez was bidding to oust her third seeded opponent of the week, having beaten No. 7 seed Barbora Krejcikova in her opener and fourth-seeded defending champion Madison Keys in the semifinals. This was the Canadian’s first final appearance away from hard courts.
At Wimbledon, Kasatkina opens her campaign Monday against Zhang Shuai. Fernandez is slated to face Lucia Bronzetti on Tuesday.