Mar 11, 2024; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Daria Kasatkina hits a shot in her third round match against Sloane Stephens (USA) during the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images No. 5 seed Daria Kasatkina jumped out to an early lead, then had to rally to defeat fellow Russian Mirra Andreeva 6-0, 4-6, 6-4 at the Ningbo Open in China on Sunday.
Kasatkina cruised through the first set, capitalizing on four Andreeva double faults and breaking her serve three times. And while Andreeva didn’t solve her service issues in the second set, her three breaks of Kasatkina led her to win that set.
Andreeva rode the momentum to a 3-0 lead in the third set, but Kasatkina broke the teen’s next two serves to go up a break and eventually serve out for the win in the one hour, 54-minute match.
For Kasatkina, the title is the eighth of her career, with six of them coming on hard courts.
Japan Open
Suzan Lamens of the Netherlands won her first WTA Tour title, defeating Kimberly Birrell 6-0, 6-4 in an all-qualifier final in Osaka.
Lamens became the second qualifier to win on tour in 2024 and the first to gain a victory in Osaka since Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan did it in 2017. Birrell, of Australia, also was looking for her career tour win.
Both players had a busy day, forced to play their semifinal matches, too, after rain forced postponement on Saturday.
In the semis, Lamens defeated seventh-seeded Diane Parry of France 6-2, 6-4. Birrell topped home-country favorite Aoi Ito 6-4, 6-3.
The 73-minute final was the first meeting between Lamens and Birrell.
–Field Level Media
