Putintseva defeated Tomljanovic in the tennis final in Birmingham

NEW DELHI: Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva secured her maiden grass-court singles championship at the senior level by defeating Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic in the Birmingham WTA Tour final on Sunday. The score was 6-1, 7-6 (10/8) in favor of Putintseva.

The 29-year-old has previously captured two WTA Tour titles, both on clay. She emerged victorious in Nurnberg in 2019 and in Budapest in 2021.

In the final of this Wimbledon warm-up event, Putintseva showed her resilience by overcoming a 5-3 deficit in the second set. She saved two set points during the nearly 90-minute encounter before winning the title.

With the win, Putintseva became only the second unseeded player to win the Birmingham title in the past decade, following Beatriz Haddad Maia, who achieved the feat in 2022.

“I don’t know how I feel because I didn’t expect this at all,” Putinteva later said, quoted by AFP.

“It’s great and it’s confusing because I’ve always been good on clay but now all of a sudden I’m good on grass. I’ll take this! It’s great!

“It was a great game. I started so well and then Ajla raised her level to the highest level. She played really amazing, she didn’t give me time to think or do anything. The game was even in the end and I was a little luckier.”

Tomljanovic’s appearance in the singles final marked a significant milestone as it was her first at tour level since 2018. Despite not winning the championship, the Australian player remains determined to secure the premiership title.

Last week’s performance served as a source of encouragement for Tomljanovic, who has faced a challenging year. Former no. The world number 32 has been ruled out for a considerable part of 2023 due to a knee injury that required surgery. Additionally, she underwent a procedure to treat ovarian cysts, further extending her time away from the court.