Putintseva, a surprise champion: "Suddenly, I'm good on grass".
Yulia Putintseva didn't expect to be crowned champion this week. Indeed, the 29-year-old Kazakh has just won the first title of her career on grass, even though she was better known for her clay-court qualities (the surface on which she won her first two titles, in Nuremberg and Budapest).
But tennis remains an unpredictable sport. After an excellent tournament in England, she didn't waver in the final, beating the Australian Ajla Tomljanovic (6-1, 7-6).
Questioned after her success, Putintseva herself admitted to being surprised by the quality of her own game, given the surface: "It's my very first title on grass. I don't really know how I feel.
It's great, but it's also weird because I've always been better on clay. Now, all of a sudden, I'm good on grass. But of course, I'll take it (laughs)."