Eastbourne, England (Sports Network) - Tamira Paszek of Austria rallied for a
three-set victory over Germany's Angelique Kerber to capture the title at the
Aegon International.
Paszek notched a 5-7, 6-3, 7-5 victory in the final Wimbledon tune-up, winning
the last three games of the match to earn her third career WTA title. She last
won two years ago in Quebec City and improved to 3-1 all-time in finals.
The 59th-ranked Paszek was suffering through a dismal 2012 season entering
this tournament. She had a match record of just 2-10, but had a strong week
with wins over Daniela Hantuchova, 2010 Wimbledon semifinalist Tsvetana
Pironkova and defending Eastbourne champion Marion Bartoli before taking out
the fifth-seeded Kerber.
Paszek had her best Grand Slam effort last year at Wimbledon with a surprising
run to the quarterfinals. She'll have a tough opener at the All England Club
next week with a first-round match against seventh-seeded Caroline Wozniacki.
Kerber, in a breakout year, was appearing in her first grass-court final on
Saturday and was coming off a quarterfinal appearance at the French Open
earlier this month. She earned her WTA-leading 39th match win of the season on
Friday in the semifinals and was bidding for a third career title. Her first
two came earlier this year, first beating Bartoli for the Paris Indoors crown
in February and taking down Wozniacki for the Copenhagen title in April.
The eighth-ranked German has never fared well in four previous visits to
Wimbledon, losing in the first round three times with a third-round appearance
in 2010. Czech veteran Lucie Hradecka awaits in the first round next week.
Saturday marked the first meeting between Paszek and Kerber.
Paszek collected a first prize of $107,000 for her first premier event title.
The Sports Network