MONTERREY, March 9, 2020

Top seed Elina Svitolina claimed her first title of the 2020 season, outlasting No.9 seed Marie Bouzkova for the Abierto GNP Seguros trophy in Monterrey.

Svitolina, champion of the 2018 WTA Finals, battled through the top half of the WTA International event in Monterrey with with wins over Belarusian qualifier Olga Govortsova, Leylah Fernandez of Canada and Arantxa Rus from the Netherlands. The World No. 5 from the Ukraine converted five of her 14 break point chances in Sunday’s singles final to secure a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 victory in exactly three hours of play.

She’s the #AbiertoGNPSeguros champion! 🏆@ElinaSvitolina clinches it over Bouzkova in a three hour thriller, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4. pic.twitter.com/SHVoJftDBJ

— WTA (@WTA) March 9, 2020

“Marie was fighting great, and I think it was a very high-level match,” Svitolina told the press, quoted by the WTA website. “We’ve both been playing good, we were fighting, and there were no easy games. I think the people really pushed us to play our best, and it was amazing to get the support from the Mexican people.”

By lifting her 14th WTA Tour career trophy, Svitolina took away from Mexico $43,000 in prize money as well as 280 WTA Ranking points. “It feels amazing,” the 25-year-old added. “It’s another step towards my goals, and I’m moving in the right direction. I’m happy that it’s going the right way.”