Birmingham Classic: Ons Jabeur Beats Daria Kasatkina To Win First Title

Birmingham Classic: Ons Jabeur Beats Daria Kasatkina To Win First Title By Admin Tunisian second seed Ons Jabeur defeated Russia's Daria Kasatkina in straight sets to win her first singles title at the Birmingham Classic. World number 24 Jabeur triumphed 7-5 6-4 against the fourth seed to become the first Arab woman to win a WTA title. In Berlin, Russian qualifier Liudmila Samsonova stunned Swiss fifth seed Belinda Bencic to win her first title. The 22-year-old world number 106 battled back from a set down to win 1-6 6-1 6-3 in her first final. Victories for Jabeur and Samsonova mean there have now been 10 first-time singles winners on the women's Tour this year. Jabeur broke Kasatkina's serve three times to prevail in the first set, before successive breaks at the start of the second put the 26-year-old in control at 4-0. Two-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist Kasatkina recovered to 4-3, but Jabeur held on to win a singles final at the third attempt. It was a breakthrough week for Samsonova in Germany, during which she also defeated seventh seed Victoria Azarenka of Belaurus in the semi-final. World number 12 Bencic won the first five games as she dominated the opening set, but Samsonova matched that feat in the second before completing her comeback with breaks in the first and ninth games in the deciding set.