Warsaw Open: Romanian qualifier clinches title

Romanian qualifier Alexandra Dulgheru capped off her fairytale run at the $600,000 Warsaw Open with a title win by beating 2007 runner-up Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine in three sets 7-6, 3-6, 6-0. This served as Dulgheru’s first WTA tour-level title win.

Ranked 209th in the world prior to the tournament, Dulgheru staged upset wins over higher-ranked opponents, most notably Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova in the semifinals and Bondarenko.

The first set was a closely fought affair which Dulgheru won on a tiebreak (7-3). The Ukranian then battled back in the second set to even things up.  However, the third set – despite the brief rain interruption – was simply dominated by Dulgheru 6-0.

Dulgheru won her biggest paycheck to date ($98,500) and earned 470 ranking points to guarantee her entry in the world’s top 100 for the first time. She’ll join compatriots Sorana Cirstea , Monica Niculescu and Edina Gallovits in the elite list.

The tournament, which was not staged last year, saw the return of three-time Grand Slam winner Maria Sharapova who made it to the quarterfinals before losing to Bondarenko.

In doubles, Americans Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Raquel Kops-Jones easily dispatched Zi Yan and Jie Zheng of China 6-1, 6-1 to win the title and $31,000.