Jelena Ostapenko beat Czech player Barbora Krejcikova at the Birmingham Classic to take a second grass-court title of her career.
In a battle between the two top seeds, second seed Ostapenko held her nerve to win 7-6 (10-8) 6-4.
“It’s great preparation for Wimbledon and I’m happy with the way I’m playing,” the Latvian said.
Elsewhere, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova beat Donna Vekic 6-2 7-6 (8-6) to win the German Open.
The 33-year-old Czech, who had also beaten Croatian Vekic en route to the title in Miami this year, took a dominant first-set win before finding herself a break down in the second.
She battled back from 5-3 down to 6-5 as Vekic, who has shot up the rankings from 69th to 23rd this season following an Australian Open quarter-final spot and a title in Monterrey, forced a tie-break but a powerful Kvitova forehand sealed the match at the first time of asking.
Ostapenko, 26, had needed three sets to win all her matches at the tournament until her straight-sets win over 2021 French Open champion Krejcikova.
“I’ve played five great matches and this one was the only one in two sets so I’m happy to come through,” said Ostapenko, who won at Roland Garros in 2017.
After neither player dropped serve in the opening set, it took Ostapenko four match points in the tie-break, having saved one from Krejcikova, to eventually take the lead.
The Australian Open quarter-finalist then looked on course to wrap things up quickly as she raced into a 5-1 lead in the second set.
But Krejcikova, who was playing her first final on grass, looked set to make a comeback when she narrowed the deficit to 5-4 before Ostapenko served out the match at the second time of asking to clinch the title.
Krejcikova had sailed into the final without dropping a set with her progress in Birmingham enough to ensure she will return to the world’s top 10 for the first time since last year when the rankings are published this week.
“There are still a couple of things I can do to get ready for Wimbledon,” said Ostapenko.
“There’s not much time to celebrate because tomorrow Eastbourne starts. I will probably go for dinner with my team to celebrate but that’s all.”
Ostapenko won the title at Eastbourne in 2021 and will use this momentum to inspire a good run at Wimbledon, which begins on 3 July, with her best run at the Grand Slam coming in 2018 where she reached the semi-finals.
Never miss a moment! Get the stories shaping Nigeria, delivered straight to your phone. Follow Peoplesdaily Newspaper on WhatsApp for breaking news, exclusive reports, and the headlines everyone will be talking about, before anyone else.
