Bencic beats Pavlyuchenkova to win Kremlin Cup
KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP / Getty
MOSCOW (AP) Belinda Bencic recovered from a set down to beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 in the Kremlin Cup final on Sunday.
Third-seeded Bencic broke Pavlyuchenkova in the Russian's first service game in both the second and third sets.
Bencic hit eight aces despite landing just 54% of her first serves.
She's the first Swiss woman to win the Kremlin Cup since Martina Hingis in 2000.
The win capped a productive week for Bencic after she secured the last spot at the WTA Finals on Saturday. By qualifying for the Moscow final, Bencic overtook Serena Williams in the points ranking for qualification for the finals in Shenzhen, China.
---
More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/apf-Tennis and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports
HEADLINES
- No. 2 Gauff ousted as Wimbledon delivers another 1st-round shocker
- Upsets galore: Record-tying 23 seeds lose in 1st round at Wimbledon
- Pegula stunned in Wimbledon 1st round by No. 116 Cocciaretto
- Defending Wimbledon champ Krejcikova fights back to beat Eala
- 2-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova bids farewell to 'best tournament'
Advertisement