Ivanovic captures 1st grass-court title

Published February 05, 2015

Birmingham, England (SportsNetwork.com) - Former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic captured her first-ever title on grass, beating Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-3, 6-2 in Sunday's final at the Aegon Classic.

After each player had their serve broken to begin the match, the top-seeded Ivanovic used a strong return to break again at 3-1. Zahlavova Strycova defended at the net well to finally hold in her next service game, but Ivanovic was able to serve out the set.

Ivanovic, playing in her WTA-leading fourth final this season, earned two more breaks in the second set and closed out the match on her third championship point when Zahlavova Strycova fired a return long.

The 26-year-old Serbian didn't drop a set during the week and claimed her third title of the year, adding to her triumphs at Auckland and Monterrey.

Zahlavova Strycova, who also played in the first grass-court final of her career, entered the Wimbledon warm-up tournament on a four-match losing streak.

A 17-time doubles champion, Zahlavova Strycova has only one singles title.

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https://www.foxnews.com/sports/ivanovic-captures-1st-grass-court-title