Krueger beats Zhu at Japan Open for maiden tour title

OSAKA, Japan (AP) — American Ashlyn Krueger capped a perfect week to win her maiden tour title by stunning top-seeded Zhu Lin of China 6-3, 7-6 (6) in the final of the Japan Open.

Krueger hadn’t dropped a set at the tournament leading into Sunday’s final and the 19-year-old Texan showed few nerves as she broke No.35-ranked Zhu's first service game of the match and then maintained composure through a tight second set and tiebreaker to claim her breakthrough title in one hour and 36 minutes.

Before this week, the 123rd-ranked Krueger's best tour result was the quarterfinals on the grass of ’s-Hertogenbosch. She came into the week without a main-draw win on hard courts this year.

Her victory in Osaka will move the American inside the top 100 for the first time.

——

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis