Kirilenko rallies past Lisicki for Pattaya title

Published January 13, 2015

Maria Kirilenko rallied for a three- set victory over Sabine Lisicki to earn the title at the Pattaya Open.

The second-seeded Kirilenko posted a 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (7-1) triumph in Sunday's final to earn her sixth career WTA title. She was the runner-up at this event last year, falling to Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova.

Kirilenko had lost her last four title matches and won a tournament for the first time since capturing the Seoul crown in September 2008. The 26-year-old Russian is now 6-6 all-time in finals.

Lisicki, seeded fifth this week, fell to 3-3 in finals and was appearing in a title match for the first time since August 2011, when she won the U.S. Open tune-up in Texas.

"Disappointed to lose in 3rd set tiebreaker but still a great tournament!" Lisicki wrote on her Twitter feed after the final. "Lots of positives to take from here!!"

The 23-year-old German fell to 0-3 lifetime against Kirilenko, although this was their first meeting in the main draw of a WTA event.

Kirilenko earned a first prize of $40,000.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/kirilenko-rallies-past-lisicki-for-pattaya-title