Linette bests Frech in first all-Polish WTA final to win Prague title

No.4 seed Magda Linette triumphed in the first all-Polish final on the Hologic WTA Tour of the Open Era, defeated No.6 seed Magdalena Frech 6-2, 6-1 in 1 hour and 20 minutes to lift the Livesport Prague Open trophy.

The title is the third of Linette's career, first on clay and first since Hua Hin 2020. The World No.48 was contesting her eighth final and second of 2024 after falling to Sloane Stephens in Rouen.

"I knew how tough it was going to be," said Linette afterward. "I needed to play my best to beat her -- I really have to play my best -- and I'm glad I took all my chances today."

Next stop for both Linette and Frech is the Paris Olympic Games, and Linette had already accepted that her success in Prague meant that she would miss the opening ceremony. However, an announcement this week added some disappointment to that.

"Honestly, when I heard that Céline Dion would be performing, I almost started crying," she said. "Because it's my absolute dream to see her live. Four times I've had tickets, and four times the show has been cancelled. That's a fifth time. I think maybe it's just not meant to be!"

Frech, 26, started the season by reaching the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time at the Australian Open, and continued to break new ground this week by making her first tour-level final. She had defeated Linette 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-2 in their only previous meeting, in the 2022 Saint-Malo 125 quarterfinals.

However, Linette delivered a near-flawless performance to race to victory in the rematch. She dropped just five points on serve in a dominant first set; in the second, she saved all four break points she faced, snuffing out any hint of a comeback from Frech.

Outmaneuvring Linette and using perfectly timed and pinpoint-accurate forehands to finish off rallies, Linette tallied 24 winners to just nine unforced errors. By contrast, Frech was unable to deliver her usual consistency off the ground, even in the longer exchanges, and racked up 17 unforced errors to only 10 winners.

Krejcikova, Siniakova reunite to win doubles title

No.1 seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova reunited to win their first title as a team on home soil, defeating wild cards Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova 6-3, 6-3 in the doubles final.

Krejcikova and Siniakova, the winners of seven Grand Slam trophies together, ended their regular partnership at the end of 2023. However, the Czech duo will be aiming to defend their Olympic gold medal next week in Paris, and prepared for it by taking their 17th title alongside each other without dropping a set.

The trophy is Siniakova's fourth of 2024 -- all with different partners -- and 27th overall. It is Krejcikova's first of 2024 and 19th overall.

Five-time major champions Mattek-Sands and Safarova were also reuniting this week. Safarova had come out of retirement to play her first tour-level event since Roland Garros 2019, and was partnering Mattek-Sands for the first time since the 2018 US Open. They did not drop a set en route to their first final together since winning Roland Garros 2017.