HONG KONG: German top seed Sabine Lisicki recovered from a woeful start to beat Czech Karolina Pliskova 7-5, 6-3 in the final of the WTA Hong Kong Open on Sunday for her first title in more than three years.

Pliskova squandered a 5-1 lead in the match after she twice broke the world number 31, who received a wild card to play in the $250,000 tournament, in the first set before losing the next six games.

Lisicki fired five aces in the second set and twice broke her Czech opponent’s serve, in the fourth and eight games, to clinch the final in just under 90 minutes and bag her first crown since her victory in Dallas in 2011.

“I’m very happy,” she said. “Especially because it was such a spontaneous decision. We literally decided [to play] three or four days before the tournament started.”

VENUS, LUCIC-BARONI SET FINAL DATE

QUEBEC CITY: Former world number one Venus Williams and Croatia`s Mirjana Lucic-Baroni advanced to the final of the Coupe Banque Nationale with semi-final triumphs on Saturday.

Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus, the top seed at the Quebec City tournament, defeated American fourth seed Shelby Rogers 6-3, 6-3.

In the other semi, Lucic-Baroni needed three sets to get past fifth seed Julia Goerges of Germany, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2.

Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2014