By Tennis Now | Sunday, February 25, 2018
World No. 80 Alison Van Uytvanck edged top-seeded Dominika Cibulkova,6-3, 3-6, 7-5, winning her second career title in Budapest.
Photo credit: Hungarian Tennis Facebook
Alison Van Uytvanck is fluent in four languages.
Van Uytvanck showed competitive eloquence under pressure today.
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The 80th-ranked Van Uytvanck upset top-seeded Dominika Cibulkova, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, winning her second career title in Budapest.
It is the 23-year-old Belgian's second career WTA title and first since she won Québec City last fall.
Van Uytvanck, who did not drop a set in four victories en route to the final, built a one-set lead after 43 minutes.
Playing for her first title since she ruled the 2016 WTA Finals, Cibulkova knew the challenge she was facing before a shot was struck.
In their only prior encounter, Cibulkova fended off Van Uytvanck, 3-6, 6-3, 8-6, at the 2014 Wimbledon.
The 33rd-ranked Slovak rallied to take the 39-minute second set and force a decider.
Van Uytvanck saved triple break point midway through the final set then broke Cibulkova at 15 for 6-5.
Serving for the title, Van Uytvanck saved a break point before closing.