Bertens dominates Görges for Volvo Car Open title

Bertens dominates Görges for Volvo Car Open title

Kiki Bertens won her fifth career title by beating Julia Görges in the Volvo Car Open final.

Kiki Bertens won the Volvo Car Open. (Reuters pic)
CHARLESTON:
Kiki Bertens routed Julia Görges 6-2 6-1 for the most significant victory of her career at the Volvo Car Open in Charleston, South Carolina, on Sunday.

The dominant Dutch 12th seed needed only 58 minutes to claim her fifth career title.

“It’s unbelievable. I’m so happy and proud,” Bertens said after winning her second match of the day.

The 26-year-old had defeated American Madison Keys 6-4 6-7(2) 7-6(5), while world number 13 Görges beat Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia 7-6(5) 6-3 in earlier semifinal matches after rain had postponed play on Saturday.

The final was much easier for Bertens as she broke the German five times to score her second career win over her.

Görges, who will become German number one on Monday, avoided a sixth break of serve by saving two match points late in the second set, but Bertens then served out the match.

“I have to give credit to her because she played very solid,” said Görges, who had won her last three WTA finals.

“She didn’t give a lot of mistakes, so I really had to work for every point, I wasn’t really able to play every point as tough as I did in the semifinals.”

In the semis, Bertens broke Keys eight times but had to save a match point. Keys led 5-4 in the third before the Dutch player rallied to force the tiebreak, which she won when Keys netted a backhand.

The Görges-Sevastova match had been suspended because of Saturday’s rain with the score 4-4 in the first set.

When play resumed on Sunday, Görges took the first set in a tiebreak before going on to reach her seventh final in the past 12 months.

Görges hit 45 winners, almost twice as many as Sevastova’s 23, but the Latvian still had her chances. However, she only managed to convert one of 14 break points.

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