By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday July 28, 2019
Hometown favorite Anastasija Sevastova came through to win the inaugural Baltic Open title in Latvia on Sunday.
Photo: Baltic Open
In its inaugural season the Baltic Open has a Latvian winner.
Anastasija Sevastova brought home the title with a 3-6 7-5 6-4 win over Polish qualifier Katarzyna Kawa, ending an eventful first week of WTA tennis in Jurmala, a Latvian resort city on the Gulf of Riga.
Top-seeded Sevastova claimed her fourth career title and first of 2019 in two hours and 9 minutes, as she battled back from a tough first set that saw her surrender three breaks of serve and win just 11 of 25 points on serve.
But the 29-year-old World No.11 cleaned things up considerably in the final two sets and was able to get past the Polish qualifier, who was playing her first WTA final.
Sevastova had to serve to stay alive in the second set at 4-5, and she took the final three games to force a decider.
Sevastova built an early break lead in the third, which she squandered, but she was able to regain her footing, overcome her nerves and seal the title much to the delight of the enthusiastic crowd at Jurmala.