S. Korean doubles duo wins WTA title at home

SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean women's doubles duo of Han Na-lae and Choi Ji-hee captured a Women's Tennis Association (WTA) title on home soil on Sunday, becoming only the second doubles team from the country to win on the tour.

Han and Choi defeated Hsieh Shu-Ying and Hsieh Su-Wei of Chinese Taipei 2-0 (6-3, 6-2) in the women's doubles final at the Korea Open at Olympic Park Tennis Center in Seoul.

They joined Cho Yoon-jeong and Jeon Mi-ra as the only doubles champions, men or women, from South Korea. Cho and Jeon won the Korea Open title in 2004, and Hsieh Su-Wei was also on the losing end at the time with a different partner.

Hsieh Su-Wei, who reached the top of the women's doubles rankings in 2014 and boasts two Grand Slam doubles titles, and Hsieh Shu-Ying, her younger sister, were expected to dominate the South Koreans. Han and Choi, ranked 205th and 313rd in the doubles, needed a wild card from the organizers just to get into the tournament.

But the South Koreans had a shockingly easy time handling the sisters, dropping just five games while finishing the match in under an hour.

In the singles final, Kiki Bertens, No. 2 seed from the Netherlands, defeated Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia 2-1 (7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 6-2) for her seventh career WTA singles title.

Bertens, world No. 12 and a Wimbledon quarterfinalist this year, won the doubles title at the Korea Open a year ago.

She's only the second player to have won both the singles and the doubles title in the Korea Open's 15-year history, joining Lara Arruabarrena of Spain.

Bertens' victory on Sunday means the Korea Open has now produced 15 different singles champions in its 15 years.

Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion and winner of last year's Korea Open, was eliminated in the round of 16 this year.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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