Kiki Bertens claimed her first WTA Premier title with a 6-2 6-1 demolition of Julia Goerges in Charleston.
It was the Dutchwoman’s second victory of the day after she defeated Madison Keys 6-4 6-7(2) 7-6(5) in a nail-biting semi-final.
Bertens has now won all five of her career titles on clay after previous triumphs in Nuremberg (twice), Morocco and Gstaad and will move up to World No.21 on Monday.
The Dutch player, 26, emerged from a flurry of early breaks at the beginning of the match with a 3-1 lead by rallying solidly and profiting from a string of errors from Goerges.
Bertens then had to save two break points in game seven. She saved the first with a forehand winner and drew an error from the German to save the second.
Bertens surges on
The two-time Nuremberg champion grew in confidence from that moment. She broke Goerges for a third time to clinch the first set 6-2 and then charged into a 5-0 lead in the second set.
In truth, it was a poor performance from the German, who made 31 unforced errors in total. This meant that all the Dutchwoman had to do for most of the match was ensure she got an extra ball back as often as possible.
Bertens did this superbly, and then watched as Goerges self-destructed on the other side of the net.
The German offered some brief resistance by saving two match points to hold in game six. However, the Dutchwoman wasted no time sealing the match in the next game. She hit a couple of big serves and a deft backhand volley winner en route to a love hold.
Bertens, who is the first Dutchwoman to win the singles title in Charleston, thanked the fans, praised the event organisers and congratulated Goerges on a great week. Finally, she paid tribute to her stand-in coach, Elise Tamaela, who stepped in to replace Raemon Sluiter.
“Elise, it’s a great week, stepping in here and being my coach for the first time because Raemon could not come this week,” Bertens said in her on-court interview. “Thank you so much.”
