Yulia Putintseva win her first WTA singles title at the 2019 Nuremberg open

NURNBERG, Germany -
Top seed Yulia Putintseva rallied from a set down to win her first WTA singles title at the Nürnberger Versicherungscup.

The Kazakh defeated unseeded Slovenian Tamara Zidansek, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 to hoist her first trophy in her third appearance in a WTA final.

Johanna Larsson won her first WTA title in three years at the Nürnberger Versicherungscup

NÜRNBERG, Germany
Johanna Larsson is back in the winner's circle.

The World No.97 won her first WTA singles title in three years at the Nürnberger Versicherungscup on Saturday, edging American Alison Riske in straight sets, 7-6(4), 6-4.

Kiki Bertens conquer's of the Nürnberg open 2017

NÜRNBERG, Germany 
Top seed Kiki Bertens ended the Cinderella run of qualifier Barbora Krejcikova in the final of the Nürnberger Versicherungscup on Saturday, rolling to her third career WTA title, 6-2, 6-1.

In her last two appearances in Nürnberg, Bertens lost a total of one set in 12 matches. The current World No.19 came through qualifying to win the title last year for a total of seven victories, but was a dominant force as the top seed this year and never lost a set.

Kiki Bertens conquer's of the NÜRNBERGER VERSICHERUNGSCU cup 2016

NÜRNBERG, Germany
Kiki Bertens defeated mariana duque mariño in Saturday's final of the  NÜRNBERGER VERSICHERUNGSCU to lift her second WTA title.

Bertens, whose only previous title came also came on clay four years ago in Fès, wrapped up a 6-2, 6-2 win in just over an hour.

There was little to separate the players at the start of the contest, as they traded a couple of service holds. Bertens struck first, breaking to 15 as she reeled off the final four games of the set.

It has been a long week for the Dutchwoman, who came through qualifying, and she had no intention of staying any longer on court than was necessary; in the second set she raced into a 4-1 lead before breaking for a fourth and final time to wrap up victory.

Magical Diamonds & Dragons themed player party in Nürnberg 2015

Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in Nürnberg party 2015

Angelique Kerber and Sabine Lisicki were among the WTA stars who shone at the magical Diamonds & Dragons themed player party in Nürnberg.

Stay tuned on wtatennis.com this week for all the latest from on and off of the court in Nürnberg!!   

ANDREA PETKOVIC´S INTERVIEW IN THE SAUNA. NURNBERGER VERSICHERUNGS CUP 2014.

The sauna was also the unusual setting for Petkovic's interview with Austrian website Sportnet.at during her title run at last week's NÜRNBERGER Gastein Ladies. 

 How often do you take a sauna?
AP: I don't like it very much, so I go only for recovery purposes - probably three or four times a month. What's the hottest you've ever felt on court? 
AP: This year at the Australian Open it was 44°C. It was so bad, because it was a dry heat and I was feeling like the skin of my face would be burning off! A year ago, you were having a hard time due to injuries and a drop down the rankings. 
Did you ever consider giving up? 
AP: When I lost at the French Open in the second round of qualifiers, I honestly considered quitting. I stopped enjoying the game, not because I had lost, but because I put too much pressure on myself to get back to where I used to be. 
I was totally unsatisfied and was thinking that it doesn't make sense anymore. Is Roger Federer the best tennis player of all time? 
AP: It's hard to answer that question, because it's hard to define what 'the best player of all time' means? I can only say that since I've been playing tennis, I have never seen anyone playing so naturally like Roger does. It's like art.

PETKOVIC CONQUERS BAD GASTEIN 2014. NURNBERGER VERSICHERUNGS CUP

BAD GASTEIN, Austria 
Flashback to five years ago - a No.98-ranked up-and-comer who had never even won back-to-back matches at the WTA level stepped onto the clay of picturesque Bad Gastein and found her voice, going all the way to the first WTA title of what would become a fantastic career. 

 Andrea Petkovic conjured up that 2009 magic at the very same venue this year, though obviously as a top player this time, battling her way to the NÜRNBERGER Gastein Ladies title for a second time. And there definitely were some major battles throughout the week, starting right out of the gates in the first round. In a rematch of this year's Charleston final, Petkovic saved set points in both sets of a razor-thin 7-6(8), 7-5 win over Jana Cepelova; she also had to go to three long sets in the semifinals against Grace Min, eventually edging past the WTA Rising Star from the United States, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4. But the No.4-seeded German saved her very best for the final, outdoing another American WTA Rising Star, Shelby Rogers, in a break-filled straight setter in just an hour and 13 minutes, 6-3, 6-3. Petkovic now has four WTA titles - Bad Gastein in 2009, Strasbourg in 2011, and Charleston and Bad Gastein again this year. This is the first time she has won multiple WTA titles in the same year.

ORDER OF PLAY, 11 JULY 2014. NURNBERGER VERSICHERUNGS CUP

SCORES 10 JULY 2014, NURNBERGER VERSICHERUNGS CUP

NURNBERGER VERSICHERUNGS CUP 2014. PLAYERS PARTY

WTA Rising Stars the Pliskova twins - decked out in full Dirndls - stepped out for the big nigh

    Alicja Rosolska at the party. The Polish veteran is a three-time doubles champion on the WTA

ORDER OF PLAY, 9 JULY 2014. NURNBERGER VERSICHERUNGS CUP

SCORES 8 JULY 2014, NURNBERGER VERSICHERUNGS CUP

MAIN DRAW SINGLES, NURNBERGER VERSICHERUNGS CUP 2014

Eugenie Bouchard wins of the first WTA title. NÜRNBERGER VERSICHERUNGSCUP 2014

BOUCHARD_PLISKOVA 62 46 63
There was actually one very big turning point in the match - leading 6-2, 4-2, Bouchard looked headed for a routine straight set victory, but Pliskova reeled off four games in a row to snatch the second set right from under her. But the No.1-seeded Bouchard regrouped very well in the third, never falling behind to close out the unseeded Czech in three sets in an hour and 53 minutes, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. 
 Bouchard was just a little bit better in just about every department. Apart from ace-to-double fault ratio (Pliskova was 7-1, Bouchard was 3-4) the Canadian came out on top in every category, from first serve points won (67% compared to 63%) all the way to second serve return points won (67% to 59%). An even bigger stat is that Bouchard is just the second Canadian in the last 26 years to win a WTA title - since 1988, only she and Aleksandra Wozniak have done it (Wozniak won Stanford in 2008). 
Other Canadians to win WTA titles: Patricia Hy-Boulais (1986 Taipei), Bassett-Seguso (1983 Hershey and 1987 Strasbourg), Kelesi (1986 Tokyo and 1988 Taranto) and Jill Hetherington (1988 Wellington).

EUGENIE BOUCHARD VS PLISKOVA INTO FINAL OF NURNBERGER VERSICHERUNGS CUP 2014

EUGENIE BOUCHARD

The second-seeded Bouchard saved all four break points on her serve and won 28 of 33 first serve points in her 6-4, 6-3 semifinal defeat of Karin Knapp on Friday. The 19th-ranked Canadian will contest her second WTA final, having lost to Samantha Stosur in the Osaka final last October.
As for Pliskova, a day after recording her first Top 10 win over World No.9 Angelique Kerber, the Czech won 10 straight games from a set and a break down en route to a 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 defeat of No.4 seed Elina Svitolina. 
 "I started slow but after the first set I woke up and was more aggressive," Pliskova said. "I'm happy that I came back and won the second and third sets. 
 "I'm playing well here. I like the club here. The people are nice. Everything's good." Pliskova will be playing in her third WTA final on Saturday, having won Kuala Lumpur in 2013 and having been runner-up in Pattaya City earlier this year. The one previous match-up between Bouchard and Pliskova was a thriller, with Bouchard pulling out a 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 win in the first round of the US Open last year.

SCORES 23 MAY 2014, NURNBERGER VERSICHERUNGS CUP

KAROLINA PLISKOVA IN SEMIS OF NURNBERGER VERSICHERUNGS CUP 2014

In seven previous meetings with Top 10 opponents, Pliskova had left empty handed every time, and she looked set for another disappointment when she won just one of the first 17 points. 
However, after belatedly getting on the scoreboard, the Czech quickly grew in confidence, pegging back Kerber amidst a flurry of winners before pinching the set on a tie-break. Her forehand now firing on all cylinders and her imposing serve finding its spots, Pliskova built on this momentum to race into a 4-1 lead in the second. With the finishing line in sight, the Czech momentarily tightened up before steadying herself one more, hitting her eighth ace of the match to close out a 7-6(5), 6-4 win. 
 "She was playing really amazingly in the beginning and there wasn't very much I could do," Pliskova said. "But then I won one game and suddenly I started to feel much better and I came back to win the first set. "I sensed she was a little bit down at the start of the second and I made a really fast start. I then started to make a few mistakes that perhaps I shouldn't have and made it a little bit complicated. I'm happy that I got through in the end."

SCORES 22 MAY 2014, NURNBERGER VERSICHERUNGS CUP

ANGELIQUE KERBER ADVANCES IN NURNBERGER VERSICHERUNGS CUP 2014

KERBER IN ROME 2014

Kerber came out firing in this one, reeling off the first four games of the match and eventually closing the first set out in 33 minutes, 6-2. She also jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second set. Friedsam is one of the WTA's most promising rising stars, though, and she began showing that promise from there, winning three games in a row to get things back on serve. Kerber went up a break twice later in the set, for 4-3 and 5-4, but Friedsam broke back both times, and they went to a breaker.
 But all of Kerber's talent and experience came bursting out at that moment - the No.1-seeded German didn't drop another point, eventually closing out her young compatriot in straights, 6-2, 7-6(0). "The first set was good - I was feeling good and I found my rhythm," Kerber said. "In the second set Anna-Lena was playing great.
She was playing much more aggressive. But I was happy about my game plan and that I was able to win, and I'm really happy to get more matches before Paris.
 "But Anna-Lena is a great young German talent, and for sure she has a good future."

SCORES 21 MAY 2014, NURNBERGER VERSICHERUNGS CUP