EASTBOURNE, England, June 19 (UPI) -- Russia's Ekaterina Makarova won her first singles title Saturday, defeating Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 in the Aegon International final.
Makarova, who had to qualify for the Eastbourne, England, event, was tested by the pesky Azarenka, who went down 5-2 in the first set but battled back to force a tiebreak. The Russian broke serve in the fifth game of the second set and went on to a much-needed victory.
The Eastbourne win was timely for Makarova, who hadn't been past the second round in any of her 11 previous tournaments in 2010. She now takes some momentum in next week's Wimbledon tourney, where she faces Agnes Szavay in the first round.
Azarenka, ranked 15th in the world, saw her career finals record fall to to 3-6, including 0-2 this year. She lost to Venus Williams in the Dubai final in February.
Azarenka is slated to meet Mirjana Lucic in first round at the All-England Club, where she reached the quarterfinals last year.
