World No.75 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic won her first WTA title with a 4-6 6-1 6-0 victory over Marina Erakovic of New Zealand in the Bell Challenge final, in Quebec City. Strycova was once runner-up, last year at Prague, while Erakovic played her first final.
Sixth-seeded Zahlavova Strycova dropped serve in the beginning of the match and even though she soon broke back, in the ninth game Erakovic broke her again and held to win the first set. Zahlavova-Strycova then rushed to victory, winning 12 of the last 13 games.
En route to the $220,000 Bell Challenge title and a prize of $37,000, Zahlavova-Strycova defeated Zhang Shuai in the first round, Mirjana Lucic in the second, Andrea Hlavackova in the quarterfinals, Michaella Krajicek in the semis, and finally Erakovic, who had upset the tournament’s top seed Daniela Hantuchova 6-4 6-4 in quarters. (source: AFP, photo: © Neal Trousdale)
