Bastad, Sweden (Sports Network) - Polona Hercog of Slovenia won her second
straight Swedish Open title with a three-set victory over Frenchwoman Mathilde
Johansson in Sunday's final.
Hercog recovered from an awful start and rallied for an 0-6, 6-4, 7-5 win for
her second career title. She beat Sweden's Johanna Larsson for her maiden WTA
crown at this event last year and improved to 2-2 lifetime in finals.
Johansson, a French citizen born in Sweden, denied a rematch of last year's
title tilt with a straight-set win over Larsson in Saturday's semifinals and
Sunday's setback left her 0-2 in WTA finals. She was also the runner-up at
Bogota last year.
Hercog entered this week's event with a four-match losing streak and just one
win in her last eight matches dating back to a semifinal loss to Lucie
Safarova in Charleston back in April. She also battled a back injury that
forced her to withdraw from some events, but a familiar venue proved to be
exactly what the 21-year-old needed.
Sunday's triumph was worth a first prize of $37,000.
The Sports Network