Tennis star Kiki Bertens claimed her eighth professional tennis title at the weekend by beating Croatian Donna Vekic in the final of the St Petersburg Open.

Bertens came back from a 5-2 deficit to win the opening set on a tie-break before taking the second set 6-4 – having survived a nervous moment in the final game when her opponent successfully challenged what looked to be a match-winning point.

The 27-year-old said the victory made up for the disappointment of an early exit from the Australian Open at the start of the year. Bertens remains eighth in the world rankings but has closed the gap on Angelique Kerber and Jelena Svitolina.

‘It was a disappointing trip to Australia,’ she told NOS Langs de Lijn. ‘I definitely expected more. But it’s a nice feeling to follow it up by winning a title, especially so early in the season.’

‘I need to keep my rhythm and just keep going. For now I’m happy that I’ve managed to close the gap on the rest of the top 10, even if I haven’t climbed in the rankings.’