Krejcikova clinches women’s title

Paris, June 12

Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova claimed her maiden Grand Slam title when she beat Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1 2-6 6-4 in the French Open final on Saturday.

The 25-year-old is the first Czech to lift the Suzanne Lenglen Cup since Hana Mandlikova, who represented Czechoslovakia, triumphed in 1981.

Krejcikova won six games in a row to take the opening set after dropping serve in the first, before Pavlyuchenkova gained the upper hand in the second set. The Russian had her left thigh taped at 5-2 but served it out to level at one-set all before Krejcikova broke decisively for 4-3 in the decider to extend her winning streak on clay to 12 matches. —Reuters