Much like last year, the Eastbourne International final featured Daria Kasatkina, and this time around, she finally won the trophy by beating Leylah Fernandez.
The Russian returned to Eastbourne this year, hoping to right the wrongs from last year finally. She reached the final last year, beating some really strong players along the way, but failed in the final against Madison Keys.
This year, Kasatkina once again proved really strong at the WTA 500 event, beating the likes of Emma Raducanu en route to yet another final. She faced a North American player yet again, but this time, she was able to beat her.
The opening set started about as well as she could hope because the Russian broke her opponent's immediately. Fernandez is the type of player who shines after a quick start, and taking away that option immediately was pure gold for Kasatkina.
The Canadian kept pushing in the next couple of games but never broke back. She had chances in one game but didn't convert them, and then she got broken more to lose the opening set 3-6.
Her struggle was similar to that of Raducanu, as she prefers trading rallies, but that's not what Kasatkina does. She throws in a few tricks to make it more interesting, and the Canadian didn't deal with it well.
At the start of the second set, Kastakina took yet another break but failed to hold it this time. Fernandez was finding way better solutions in this set, battling back from 0-3 to 4-3.
Even so, she couldn't hold the advantage, as Kasatkina was able to turn around the match with one final push, winning 6-3, 6-4.
It was a strong week for the Russian, who looked very comfortable in the tricky conditions, and she addressed her opponent and fans after the match, showing that she was delighted with the trophy run.
"It’s been a year but it feels like it’s been a few days since I was here. I want to congratulate Leylah for the great week. It was a very tough battle today. I hope there are many more to come against eachother on the big stages. Also congrats to your team. You guys are doing a great job. I wish you good luck and all the best for Wimbledon."
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