Bouzkova rolls past Potapova in Prague to win first title

There's no place like home. Czech Marie Bouzkova captured the first Hologic WTA Tour singles title of her career on Sunday at the Livesport Prague Open with a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Anastasia Potapova. 

The ninth Czech to reach the final in Prague since the event began in 2015, Bouzkova is the fifth to win on home soil, joining Karolina Pliskova, Lucie Safarova, Petra Kvitova and Barbora Krejcikova. She didn't lose a set in five victories and dropped just 26 games in 10 sets.

Bouzkova is also the fifth first-time singles champion on tour this year, alongside Potapova, Martina Trevisan (Rabat), Beatriz Haddad Maia (Nottingham) and Bernarda Pera (Budapest). 

"It's a dream for me to win my first title here at home," a beaming Bouzkova said in her victory speech. "I just couldn't be happier. ... It's a dream come true and I enjoyed playing in front of the home crowd so much."

Story of the match: Bouzkova had been runner-up in three other Hologic WTA Tour singles finals in her career to date, including earlier this year in Guadalajara, Mexico to Sloane Stephens. Each of those finals extended to three sets, but there was no threat of that for the eighth-seeded Czech in her fourth. She won the first seven games, and broke Potapova's serve seven times in 71 minutes.

"I was expecting a really tough match, which it was. I handled the beginning very well. She started off very strong, and I thought it was going to be a long match, but I was able to take a lot of chances, have this lead, and close it out," Bouzkova said.

"The fan support was unreal, ever since the first match. It was really special for me to experience this ... and I'm so happy that it led to the title. I definitely couldn't have done it without the fans here."

The first game in fact set the tone: Potapova, the No. 7 seed, led 40-15 on serve but was eventually broken. Bidding for her second title of the year after triumphing in Istanbul in April, Potapova racked up 44 unforced errors in 15 games. 

On the rise: This week, Bouzkova was playing her first event since reaching the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, where she was beaten by eventual runner-up Ons Jabeur. Entering the tournament ranked No. 66, Bouzkova is projected to rise to a new career-high in the Top 50 on Monday.

Potapova nonetheless a winner: After finishing runner-up in singles, Potapova bounced back with Yana Sizikova to win the doubles title. The No. 4 seeds ousted Angelina Gabueva and Anastasia Zakharova in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4. 

It's the pair's second title together after they triumphed at the Ladies Open Lausanne in 2019.