In the Birmingham Classic final on Sunday, Jelena Ostapenko held off a late comeback to defeat top-seeded Barbora Krejcikova and won her second title on grass.
The second-seeded Latvian emerged victorious in a match between the top two seeds and previous French Open winners, winning 7-6 (8), 6-4.
Prior to the title match, Krejcikova had not dropped a set all week. However, Ostapenko took advantage of her fourth opportunity in the tiebreaker to win a close opening set.
Ostapenko then quickly built a 5-1 lead, putting her in position to win, but Krejcikova fought back by winning three straight games.
“I was really close from 5-1 to 5-4 but then I managed somehow and I’m really, really happy about it,” said Ostapenko, who had four three-set matches before the final.
“I was fighting every match. I played five great matches, this was the only match in two sets. It’s a great preparation for Wimbledon and there’s still a couple of things I can do better.”
It was Ostapenko’s 6th singles title and her second on grass, following her victory at Eastbourne in 2021.
Ostapenko won the title in Eastbourne in 2021 and will utilise this momentum to inspire a solid run at Wimbledon, which starts on 3 July. Her greatest Grand Slam performance was in 2018 when she reached the semi-finals.