Pliskova wins first WTA title

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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, March 3 (UPI) -- Karolina Pliskova posted the lone third-set break Sunday in picking up her first WTA title with a win over Bethanie Mattek-Sands at the BMW Malaysian Open.

Pliskova returned after a rain delay in the third set to complete a 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory over Mattek-Sands. It was her first appearance in a championship match while Mattek-Sands dropped to 0-4 in finals appearances.

Pliskova, No. 127 in the rankings, faced only one break point after the shaky first set and wound up winning nearly three-quarters of the points on serve. In the third set she dropped just four points when serving and had half of the 10 aces she had in the match.

The match was at 1-1 in the third set when play was suspended because of rain. When play resumed Pliskova broke through with a break for a 4-2 lead in the third set and served out from there.

Mattek-Sands won about 70 percent of the points on serve herself and didn't drop serve until the 11th game of the second set, which allowed Pliskova to extend the match.

Pliskova collected $40,000 along with the title while Mattek-Sands, 197th in the ranks, took home $20,000 as the runner-up.