Bertens Crowned Nürnberg Champion

Posted: Jan 01, 1970

NÜRNBERG, Germany – Kiki Bertens lifted the second WTA title of her career on Saturday, defeating Mariana Duque-Mariño in a one-sided final at the NÜRNBERGER VERSICHERUNGSCUP.

In Friday’s semifinals, Bertens had required a third set tie-break to see off Julia Goerges, but against Duque-Mariño there was no such drama as she wrapped up a 6-2, 6-2 win in little over an hour.

“I think I played really well today – I was serving good and going for my shots. I had really good length to my shots and so she couldn’t do much from the baseline” Bertens said.

There was little to separate the players at the start of the contest, as they traded a couple of service holds, before Bertens hit the front decisively, breaking to 15 as she reeled off the final four games of the set.

Bertens’ path to the title was far from straightforward, beginning last Saturday in qualifying. And it was clear she had no intention of staying any longer on court than was strictly necessary; in the second set she raced into a 4-1 lead before breaking for a fourth and final time to wrap up victory.

Incidentally, Bertens only previous singles title also came as a qualifier, four years ago at the French Open tune-up event in Fès. The Dutchwoman will now turn her attention to Paris, where she meets No.3 seed Angelique Kerber in the first round.

Before then, though, she is planning to savor a bumper weekend. “I will fly to Paris in the morning. My family is here so for sure we will celebrate tonight!”

The afternoon got even better for Bertens a few hours later when she teamed up with Johanna Larsson to defeat Shuko Aoyama and Renata Voracova, 6-3, 6-4, in the doubles final.

“We try to play as many tournaments as possible together, so it’s really fun to always have the same partner,” Bertens said when asked about her long-time partnership with Larsson. “For me it’s also important that we not only have a lot of fun on the court but off the court as well.

“We’re really supporting each other. Like this week she lost first round of singles, but was there with me every match, supporting me, and that’s a great feeling to have in a doubles partner.”