Madison Keys beats Daria Kasatkina in final to claim second Eastbourne title

America’s Madison Keys defeated Russia’s Daria Kasatkina after a lengthy tiebreak in the second set to secure the Rothesay International title in Eastbourne.

Keys completed a 6-2, 7-6 (13) win in an hour and 42 minutes to secure the grass title for the second time after being champion in 2014.

The world No. 25 seemed confident after the first set and then took a 4-1 lead after another early break in the second set.

However, ninth-seeded Kasatkina, world No. 11, bounced back to recover, winning three straight games to equalize and then having a chance to force a decider by a 6-5 lead, was able to do so but not hold.

As the second set went into the tiebreak, it was Keys who seized the initiative, taking a 3-0 lead first and then 5-2, but as the wind picked up he failed to convert three match point chances.

Kasatkina then had four set points of his own before Keys finally crossed the finish line and secured four of the last five points to secure her seventh WTA title.

The tiebreak was the second-longest on the WTA Tour this year after Petra Kvitova and Elena Rybakina played over 30 points in the Miami Open final.

“I love coming to Eastbourne and playing there. “To be able to win the title twice here is a very nice memory for me,” Keys said on the WTA Tour website.

“It’s been a pretty tough year for me and it’s absolutely amazing to be able to hold this trophy.”

Keys meets British wildcard Sonay Kartal in the first round at Wimbledon on Tuesday while Kasatkina, 11th seeded at the All England Club, meets American Caroline Dolehide on Monday.

Rain interrupted the men’s draw on Friday.

Argentina’s fourth-placed Francisco Cerundolo returned and made a comeback with a 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 win over American Mackenzie McDonald.

World No. 17 Tommy Paul then started his semi-final against Gregoire Barrere and quickly prevailed in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 over the unseeded Frenchman.

Paul reached his second tour-level final of the season, with the match against world No. 19 Cerundolo being played on Saturday afternoon.