Bertens retains St Petersburg title, Linette wins in Hua Hin

Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands poses with the trophy after the final singles tennis match against Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina (not pictured) at St Petersburg Ladies' Trophy 2020, St Petersburg, Russia, February 16, 2020. /TASS Photo

Kiki Bertens beat Elena Rybakina 6-1, 6-3 to retain the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy on Sunday.

It's the first title of 2020 for the Dutch player, who's eighth in the world rankings. She hit six aces on the way to victory and held serve throughout.

Second-seeded Bertens needed just 1 hour and 14 minutes to beat Rybakina in the final after fighting off a second-set comeback from Rybakina by saving four break points in the opening game.

Bertens ended a 0-3 streak in tour finals to claim her first tournament win since she beat Simona Halep in Madrid in May. Bertens last successfully defended a title in Nuremburg in 2017.

Eighth-seeded Rybakina, from Kazakhstan, was playing her third final of 2020 after a strong start to the season.

Magda Linette of Poland celebrates a point during the match against Zhang Shuai of China (not pictured) on day 1 of 2020 WTA Shenzhen Open at Shenzhen Longgang Sports Center, Shenzhen, China, January 5, 2020. /Getty Images

Fifth-seeded Magda Linette of Poland won her second WTA title following a convincing 6-3, 6-2 win over Swiss teenager Lionie Kung in the Thailand Open final on Sunday.

The No 42-ranked Linette, with her powerful serves and consistent baseline game, outplayed the 19-year-old qualifier in just 76 minutes in her fourth tour final. Her previous victory came in the Bronx Open in August 2019.

"I didn''t expect this at all coming here. I was even wondering how it was going to be because I was coming from indoor Fed Cup. I had a little time to adjust. I started the match really well and managed to continue throughout," said Linette.

Both players held their serves until the sixth game of the first set when Kung double faulted and sent a forehand long to drop the first service game of the match and allowed Linette to build a 4-2 lead.

The Polish player, a semi-finalist last year, got to her first set point at 40-15 after Kung sprayed a backhand wide. She closed out the 42-minute opening set with a big serve that Kung returned into the net.

Linette carried her momentum into the second set, breaking at the start with her attacking return and powerful groundstrokes to take a 1-0 lead. She saved a break point in the fourth game and went on to convert another break opportunity to widen the gap to 4-1.

At 5-2, Linette held to win the title, blasting a fierce serve to force an error from Kung to end the match. She will break into the top 40 for the first time on Monday while Kung will jump from No 283 to inside the top 180.

"I'm happy to play my first WTA final. It's an incredible week. I'm also excited that I will be able to play my first Grand Slam qualifying competition in the French Open," said Kung.

(With input from agencies)