Japan’s Nao Hibino ended a four-year title drought Monday with a 6-4, 6-1 defeat of No. 4 seed and home favorite Linda Noskova at the Livesport Prague Open in the Czech Republic.
Hibino, 28, completed a rain-delayed 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-3 semifinal win over Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian before taking down Noskova in 71 minutes.
Hibino converted five of seven break points against Noskova, who jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening set before losing 12 of the next 14 games.
Hibino, who became just the fifth lucky loser to win a WTA tournament, collected her third title following victories at Hiroshima in 2019 and Tashkent in 2015.
–Field Level Media