Lesia Tsurenko survives scare to win second consecutive Mexico Open title

Defending champion Lesia Tsurenko pulled off a remarkable comeback against Stefanie Voegele to win the Mexico Open for the second year in a row.

The Ukrainian number seven seed found herself just three points away from defeat at one stage, having lost the first set.

But Tsurenko held her nerve at the crucial moments and dug deep to triumph 5-7 7-6 (7/2) 6-2 after two hours and 45 minutes on court.

The Ukrainian’s serve let her down in the first set, and she hit four consecutive double faults to give her opponent a break in the final game.

It was another tense start to the second set, with three breaks of serve apiece, and Voegele, the world number 183, fought hard to force a tiebreak.

But her momentum began to slip in the decider, and Tsurenko started to find her form.

The final set saw Tsurenko reel off three games in a row to emerge victorious in Acapulco.

According to the WTA website, the 28-year-old said: “It’s such a special tournament for me, winning here for the second time – this is just an unbelievable feeling for me to be here. It was amazing.”

She added: “Stefanie, it was an unbelievable match. It was almost three hours, we both were nervy and we were still fighting to the end. Thanks for this match and for this experience.”

At the Oracle Challenger Series in Indian Wells, WTA veterans Sara Errani and Kateryna Bondarenko won their matches to book a place in the tournament’s final.

Errani, a former French Open finalist, overcame young American Amanda Anisimova 6-4 6-2, while Ukraine’s Kateryna Bondarenko survived a close opening set against Ajla Tomljanovic to win 7-5 6-3.