Tashkent Open: Kateryna Bondarenko topples second seed Timea Babos to clinch first title in nine years

Moscow: Ukraine’s veteran Kateryna Bondarenko beat second seeded Timea Babos of Hungary in straight sets to claim the title at Tashkent Open WTA tournament on Saturday. Bondarenko, 31, who is 133rd in the WTA rankings, prevailed 6-4, 6-4 in one hour 28 minutes. [caption id=“attachment_4097853” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Kateryna Bondarenko poses with the Tashkent Open trophy. Facebook @tashkentopen[/caption] “I played a good match today with some really good rallies,” Bondarenko, who won her maiden WTA title in Birmingham in 2008, said. “I was happy to finish the match in two sets, I was getting tired.” Ukraine’s veteran looked confident from the start and broke her rival’s serve in the seventh game for a one-set lead after 38 minutes. In the second set Bondarenko broke early again for a comfortable 3-0 lead, which she kept throughout to claim her career’s second WTA title. The win at Tashkent will allow Bondarenko to return into WTA Top-100.