Tennis: Cibulkova wins Eastbourne to claim first grass title

Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova in action during the final at the WTA Eastbourne event on June 25, 2016. PHOTO: REUTERS

EASTBOURNE, United Kingdom (AFP) - Dominika Cibulkova beat Karolina Pliskova 7-5, 6-3 on Saturday to claim her first career title on grass at the WTA Eastbourne event.

The Slovak 12th seed was competing in her fourth final of 2016 and now owns two trophies since April, after her victory in just over 90 minutes over the Czech player.

Former Australian Open finalist Cibulkova will move back to 19th in the rankings, as she makes a recovery from 2015 Achilles ankle surgery.

The winner added the pre-Wimbledon showpiece to her trophy from two months ago when she won in Katowice, Poland. The energetic Slovak now holds six career trophies, all but Eastbourne won on hard courts or indoor hard courts.

Cibulkova improved her record over Pliskova to 2-0 after a 2014 win in the Kuala Lumpur semi-finals.

The winner took the title on her third match point.

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