Abierto Tampico: Stakusic stuns Blinkova to win the trophy
The Canadian defeated No 5 seed Anna Blinkova in a closely-fought three-setter on Sunday
Marina Stakusic (Zuma / Panoramic)
Canadian qualifier Marina Stakusic won the Abierto Tampico title by edging out Russian Anna Blinkova, the No 5 seed, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 on Sunday.
The title clash saw Stakusic and Blinkova exchange a staggering 31 break-point opportunities, with both players converting eight times each. The two players also committed the same number of double faults — six.
The Canadian eventually defeated her seeded opponent after a tussle of two hours, 43 minutes to claim the biggest title of her career.
Ahead of her victory, Stakusic, ranked No 116, defeated Ukrainian qualifier Anastasiya Sobolieva (6-2, 6-2), American Robin Montgomery, the No 7 seed (6-4, 7-6 (5)), Italian Lucrezia Stefanini (0-6, 6-4, 7-5) and Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo, the No 6 seed (7-6 (3), 7-6).
Blinkova, ranked No 75, beat Slovak Veronika Erjavec (6-3, 6-0), Anastasia Tikhonova (6-0, 6-7 (4), 6-1), American qualifier Varvara Lepchenko (6-2, 6-4) and Canadian Rebecca Marino (7-6 (8), 6-7 (4), 6-2) earlier in the tournament.
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