AUCKLAND, New Zealand- Belinda Bencic beat Daria Kasatkina 6-0, 6-2 to win the Adelaide International women’s title, her sixth on the WTA Tour.
The 13th-ranked Swiss player took barely an hour to beat the eighth-ranked Kasatkina.
Bencic converted five of her seven break points and won almost double the amount of points than the Russian, who had been impressive in reaching the semi-finals before both women had walkovers to advance to the final.
It was the first tournament win for the reigning Olympic champion with new coach Dmitry Tursunov. “It’s our first title together, sure it’s not the last one, I feel like we’re just starting so thanks a lot,” Bencic said according to AP.
In the men’s title match, Soonwoo Kwon, who lost in qualifying but was a late call-up to the main draw due to an injury withdrawal, beat Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4).
The South Korean player was down 2-0 in the final set and had two break points against him before he recovered for the victory. “So many people are watching in TV in Korea, thanks to the fans in here, supporting me,” Kwon said.
Elsewhere, Frenchman Richard Gasquet won his first title in five years with a 4-6 6-4 6-4 victory over Briton Cameron Norrie in the Auckland Open final, Reuters reported.
South Korean Kwon Soon-woo won the Adelaide International 2 final, beating Spanish fourth seed Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4 3-6 7-6(4) for the second ATP title of his career.
World number 12 Norrie, who beat defending Melbourne Park champion Rafa Nadal at the season-opening United Cup, eased through the opening set at the Australian Open warm-up event before 36-year-old Gasquet hit back.
The Frenchman had a walkover in the semi-final and looked slightly fresher than Norrie, levelling the match before getting a decisive break for a 5-4 lead in the decider.
Gasquet then closed out the contest on serve to win his first trophy since ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2018, disappointing home fans who had been hoping New Zealand-raised Norrie would come out on top.
“It’s an amazing title for me, especially now at my age,” Gasquet said in a news conference. “I really didn’t think I would win again.”
Gasquet, the oldest men’s champion at the Auckland event, will take on fellow Frenchman Ugo Humbert first up at the Australian Open.
In Adelaide, world number 84 Kwon became the first lucky loser to win an ATP title since Marco Cecchinato in 2018 at Budapest.
Kwon clinically took the first set by winning the majority of his first-serve points before Bautista Agut claimed the second set with his brilliant second-serve performance.
Bautista Agut broke Kwon’s serve for a 4-3 lead in the third set but the South Korean broke back immediately, pulling off a remarkable comeback in a fiery contest.
As the match went to a tiebreak, Kwon triumphed owing to his flawless second serve as the 25-year-old another title to his collection after winning in Nur-Sultan in 2021.
