Jelena Ostapenko becomes the 29th player to lift the Maud Watson trophy, winning the Rothesay Classic Birmingham singles title at the Edgbaston Priory Club.
The Latvian defeated top seed and world No.12 Barbora Krejcikova 7-6(8), 6-4 in just over an hour and 50 minutes to bag her sixth career title and second on grass.
Ostapenko now adds the Birmingham title to her Rothesay International Eastbourne crown from 2021.
In a battle between two former Roland Garros champions, it looked like Krejcikova might nick the opener in the tie-break, rescuing three set points before serving for it at 8-7. However, Ostapenko drew level with an aggressive backhand winner and finally finished the set on her fourth time of asking.
Having gone to three sets in each of her four previous rounds, the second seed was in no mood to hang around and quickly rushed to a 5-1 lead in the second. However, the Czech star proved resilient and it looked like trouble for Ostapenko at 5-4, 15-30. Staying calm and composed, the former Wimbledon semi-finalist forced two errors from her opponent on serve and finished with a driving forehand winner down the line.
Whilst it wasn’t to be for Krejcikova in the singles, she was victorious in the doubles final with her partner Marta Kostyuk, beating Storm Hunter and Alycia Parks to lift the Joan Fry Cup.
We’ve enjoyed a fantstic week of sunshine and explosive tennis and we look forward to seeing everyone in 2024!
