Tsvetana Pironkova becomes first female qualifier to win Sydney International

Johannesburg: Bulgarian qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova has defeated fifth seed Angelique Kerber 6-4, 6-4 within 96 minutes to clinch the Sydney International title on Friday.

The world number 107 crowned an impressive week of top ten scalps with a straight sets victory over her third top-ten ranked opponent of the week and became the first woman qualifier to win the Sydney International, which is one of the oldest tournaments in the world, for her maiden WTA title. According to Sport24, Pironkova reached her debut WTA final with a last four win over second seed Petra Kvitova after beating Italian third seed Sara Errani in the quarter-finals. The Bulgarian will now face Spain`s Silvia Soler-Espinosa in the opening round of the Australian Open and is in the same half of the draw as top seed Serena Williams , the report added.