Third
seed Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic beat sixth seed Marina Erakovic of New Zealand in the final of the Challenge Bell 6-4 6-3 in one hour and 29 minutes. Four years ago Safarova was the runner-up at the tournament to Melinda Czink.
En route to the finals, the 48th-ranked Safarova defeated Anna Tatishvili in the first round 6-3 6-2, then Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in the second 7-6(4) 7-6(10), seventh seed Lauren Davis 6-2 6-4 in the quarterfinals, and home favorite, Canadian No.1 Eugenie Bouchard, seeded fifth, 3-6 6-3 6-2 in the semis.
The $235,000 Challenge Bell is the Sarafova’s fifth career title, after Forest Hills in 2008 and 2005, Gold Coast in 2006 and Estoril in 2005. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)
