Bencic ends wait for third WTA title after beating Kvitova in Dubai final

Unseeded Belinda Bencic beat Petra Kvitova to win the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and claim her first WTA trophy since 2015.

The Swiss toppled number two seed Kvitova 6-3 1-6 6-2 in one hour and 45 minutes to lift her third career title.

“It’s unbelievable. It’s incredible. I mean, I still cannot believe it,” Bencic said on www.wtatennis.com.

“So many times I was close from defeat. It’s unbelievable that I ended up winning this.”

Bencic, ranked 45 in the world, came into the final looking to win her first WTA trophy since the Rogers Cup at Toronto in 2015.

Kvitova was competing in her third final of 2019 with a victory at Sydney, but Bencic broke serve three times to win the first set.

The Czech’s powerful forehands dominated the second set, but Bencic fought back in the decider and broke to lead 2-1 and 5-2 before closing out victory.

Defending Hungarian Ladies Open champion Alison Van Uytvanck saved five match points in her thrilling 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7) semi-final win over Ekaterina Alexandrova.

The Belgian prevailed in a marathon contest played over two hours and 15 minutes and has now won straight matches at the Budapest event.

Van Uytvanck will play Marketa Vondrousova in Sunday’s final after the Czech teenager overpowered Russia’s Anastasia Potapova 6-0 6-2.