Tennis
Qualifier Bertens wins Grand Prix SAR
Tennis

Qualifier Bertens wins Grand Prix SAR

Published Apr. 28, 2012 1:00 a.m. ET

Dutch qualifier Kiki Bertens won her first WTA title when she beat Spaniard Laura Pous-Tio 7-5, 6-0 in the Grand Prix SAR final on Saturday.

Both played in their first tour final.

''In the beginning I was very nervous and she started well, but after I won the first set all my nerves were gone,'' Bertens said. ''I'm excited. I'm going to play more tournaments now and try to win more.''

The 20-year-old Bertens dropped serve twice, but used her superior returns to break Pous-Tio three times in each set.

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Bertens raced away with the second set, conceding only two points on her serve, while Pous-Tio managed to win only 41 percent of her first-serve points.

''It is only my second tournament on clay, so I'm still happy with the result,'' Pous-Tio said. ''She started attacking more and everything started going faster. She played a very good match today.''

The 149th-ranked Bertens came through two qualifying rounds to make the main draw, and she had previously never been beyond the first round at a WTA event.

''I love it here. I was here for one week because I played the qualies too, so I'm a little bit tired now,'' Bertens said. ''But I'm going to celebrate tonight.''

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