Second-time lucky for Daria Kasatkina as she wins Eastbourne WTA final
Daria Kasatkina (27) won her first grass-court title by defeating Leylah Fernandez (21) 6-3, 6-4 to win the Eastbourne International on Saturday a year after losing in the final of the WTA Tour event.
Victory saw the sixth-seeded Russian go one better on England's south coast after she was beaten in the 2023 showpiece match at Devonshire Park by Madison Keys - who lost to Fernandez in the semi-finals of this year's Wimbledon warm-up event.
In defeating former US Open finalist Fernandez, world number 14 Kasatkina won her seventh career title and first since 2022 following three previous defeats in finals this season for the Russian.
"It's been a year, but it feels like it's been a few days since last year when I was standing here," said Kasatkina, who beat Britain's Emma Raducanu - Fernandez's conqueror in the 2021 US Open final - on her way to Saturday's title match at Eastbourne.