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Top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska had to fight off two set points against her in the second set but held on to beat No. 10-seeded Elina Svitolina 6-1, 7-6 (3) on Saturday in the final of the Connecticut Open in New Haven, Conn. Radwanska, who is ranked No. 4 in the world, did not lose a set in the tournament while capturing her 19th title on the WTA Tour.
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"Winning a tournament like this without losing a set means I really played good tennis, and I played against top players," Radwanska said. "Everything was working, I was feeling very confident on the court."
When Radwanska won the first five games of the match, it appeared she might steamroll Svitolina like she did Petra Kvitova in her 6-1, 6-1 semifinal victory.
However, Svitolina, who beat Serena Williams in the Olympic singles tournament in Rio early this month, rallied in the second set.
Svitolina, 21, had a chance to get even in the match with Radwanska serving at 5-6, 15-40 in the second set. But Svitolina was unable to finish it off. Radwanska won four straight points to tie the set 6-6, and she dominated the tiebreaker. Radwanska reeled off five points in a row to get to match point and finished off Svitolina on her second match-point opportunity.
The tournament was a confidence booster for Radwanska heading into the U.S. Open, which begins Monday.
"I think this was great preparation, a great week for me before the Open," she said.
Although this tournament is treated like a warmup event for the U.S. Open by many players, Radwanska did not minimize the significance of her victory.
"Every time means a lot," she said, "so I'm so happy to collect another one, especially in a tournament I have never won before. I am so happy to win my 19th title here."
Radwanska had not originally planned to play the Connecticut Open but decided she needed a tuneup for the U.S. Open and was granted a wild-card entry. She was one of the few stars in the tournament as six of the top 11 seeds withdrew from the event just before it began.
