Alexandrova wins maiden WTA title in Shenzhen

CHINA: Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova won her first WTA singles title after the in-form Russian whitewashed Elena Rybakina in straight sets in the final of the Shenzhen Open on Saturday.

The fifth seed won 6-2, 6-4 in 73 minutes to begin her spell and her Australian Open arrangements with a bang. The 25-year-old Alexandrova listed a career-high 34th in the world, bowed to her knees after dismissing Rybakina, the seventh seed from Kazakhstan.

Alexandrova, who got succeed in a WTA 125K event in Limoges, France has earlier beaten the ex-world number one Garbine Muguruza in the semi-finals in China.