DALIAN, China -- No.5 seed Kateryna Kozlova claimed the biggest title of her career on Sunday, defeating two-time Grand Slam finalist Vera Zvonareva, 6-4, 6-2, to win the Dalian Open.
Kozlova, from Ukraine, has been in a rich vein of form, having won nine of her last ten matches over the last three weeks. Prior to coming to Dalian, she qualified for the US Open, and then won a match in the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career before losing to eventual quarterfinalist Anastasija Sevastova.
In the Dalian Open singles final, it was the Russian Zvonareva who took the early lead, breaking for 2-1, but the former World No.2 was broken in her final two service games of the set to provide Kozlova with a one-set advantage.
Kozlova rolled from there, breaking Zvonareva three more times in the second set to seal victory in one hour and 37 minutes. Kozlova did not drop a set during her run to the championship, and is projected to reach a career-high ranking of No.83 when the new standings are released on Monday
Zvonareva can also hold her head high after reaching the largest final of her comeback so far. The former World No.2 returned to the tour earlier this year after a nearly two-year absence.
In all-Chinese doubles final, Lu Jingjing and You Xiaodi prevailed over Guo Hanyu and Ye Qiuyu in a match tiebreak, claiming the championship, 7-6(2), 4-6, 10-5, in one hour and 47 minutes.
