Hercog wins her first ever singles title in Bastad

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Hercog wins her first ever singles title in Bastad

World number 53 Polona Hercog has grabbed her first ever title when the Slovenian beat crowd favorite Johanna Larsson in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5 in the $220,000 Bastad final.

Hercog needed nearly one hour and a half to rally past the hosts whom she was facing for the first time this year. The 20-year-old, who started the final as favorite in front of the world number 65, managed to break her opponent in the opener, something which allowed her to preserve a two-game lead until the end of the term. As for the second set, it found the two threaten with a tie-break. Larsson pushed the Maribor born into a 5-5 draw, but she couldn’t take any lead other from then on. She finally conceded the set due to a poor service percentage, gifting Hercog her first ever singles title.

Said a delighted Slovenian: “There was a lot of nerves in this match from both of us. I am pleased to have gone to the final and won my first title, she continues. It’s special for me to win on such a fine place. The audience has been fantastic and the whole tournament has been great.” The head to head series between the two have now gone 2-0 to Polona who had previously defeated the 22-year-old at thus term’s Wimbledon Grand Slam where the Swede lost her debut in three sets, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4.

Hercog had previously stunned one of the main favorites Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 in the semi finals and Vesna Dolonts 6-2, 6-4 in the quarters. Her first two rounds had brought her an easy win against Anna Tatishvili of Georgia, and a three-set hard-fought win over Aravane Rezai whom the Slovenian ousted 3-6, 6-4, 7-6.

On the other side, Johanna Larsson had previously eased past Sofia Arvidsson in the 100 percent Swedish semi finals. Larsson beat her compatriot 6-3, 6-1, win which followed a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 one against Lourdes Dominguez of Spain. Concerning the first two terms, they had brought the Swede a 6-7, 6-2, 6-2 victory against Vera Dushevina and a 6-3, 6-1 against Alla Kudryavtseva.

Larsson could only admit the victory on Saturday as the hosts declared that she should have at least pushed the second round into breaker, something which could have given her more chances for the home success. Unfortunately for her, it was the Slovenian who hindered Larsson of claiming her first ever singles title.

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