Safarova wins Prague Open

PRAGUE: Lucie Safarova won her first title of the year by defeating Samantha Stosur of Australia 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 on clay in the Prague Open final on Saturday.
Ranked 16th in the world, Safarova defeated fellow Czech Karolina Pliskova to get into the final, while Stosur enjoyed a walkover when Russia’s Svetlana Kuznestova withdrew due to a thigh injury.
Safarova, who lost to Serena Williams in the French Open final last year, struggled on serve in the opening set and was soon 0-2 down.
The Australian then had problems of her own on serve in the second set, four double faults allowing the home player to move ahead.
The deciding set was a cliff-hanger with 29-year-old Safarova breaking to love to lead 4-3 before serving twice for the win.
It was her first title success since Doha in February of last year and follows an injury-hit start to the season that saw her crash out five times at the first round stage.

Busta in Estoril final

Pablo Carreno Busta took full advantage of a serving collapse from Benoit Paire to post a 6-3, 6-3 victory into the final of the Estoril Open on Saturday.
The Spanish winner benefitted as his French opponent dropped serve seven times.
For what will be his second semifinal of 2016, Carreno Busta will next face either second seed Nick Kyrgios or experienced Spaniard Nicolas Almagro with the title at stake.
The Spaniard constructed his second straight victory over France’s Paire to put himself into possible title position after reaching the Sao Paulo final last February, where he lost to Pablo Cuevas.
Paire made a brief last stand by breaking his opponent while Carreno Busta served for victory, but the triumph was short-lived as the 50th-ranked Iberian broke straight back to complete the job in 73 minutes.
The Spaniard, who is seeking the first trophy of his career, denied Paire a first ATP semifinal since Tokyo more than six months ago.
Carreno advanced with modest form, striking five double-faults and finding a mere three aces. He lost serve on four occasions.
Australian crowd-pleaser Kyrgios, whose casual approach to his tennis belies his dangerous form, will be bidding to surpass his Estoril showing from 2015, when he lost the final to Frenchman Richard Gasquet.

Thiem bounces back to reach Munich final

Austria’s Dominic Thiem, ranked 15th in the world, reached the final of Munich’s ATP tournament by fighting back to beat German teenager Alexander Zverev in Saturday’s semifinal.
Having lost the first set, Thiem recovered to seal a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 on clay in the Bavarian capital to end the run of 19-year-old Zverev.
In Sunday’s final, Thiem will face the winner of Saturday’s other semifinal when Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber, who won the Munich title in 2007 and 2012 but lost to Britain’s Andy Murray in last year’s final, meets Italy’s Fabio Fognini.


Kohlschreiber bids for third Munich title

Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber will be bidding to win Munich’s ATP tournament for the third time after blasting past Italy’s Fabio Fognini 6-1, 6-4 in Saturday’s semifinal.
In Sunday’s final, Kohlschreiber, 32, who won the Munich title in 2007 and 2012 but lost to Britain’s Andy Murray in last year’s final, will face Austria’s rising star Dominic Thiem, who is ranked 15th in the world, but on a rich vein of form.
With 26 wins and two titles already this season, Thiem fought back from losing the first set in his semifinal to beat German teenager Alexander Zverev and seal a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 on clay in the Bavarian capital to end the run of his 19-year-old opponent.
Kohlschreiber, ranked 27th in the world, has steam-rolled his way to his fifth Munich final after seeing off compatriot Florian Mayer, Juan Martin del Potro and Fogini en route.