London, July 04: Thailand’s Noppawan Lertcheewakarn won the Wimbledon girls’ singles title today when she defeated French top seed Kristina Mladenovic 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.
The 17-year-old from Chiang Mai had finished runner-up to Britain’s Laura Robson in the 2008 final, but she went one better this time round recovering from a set down to beat the French Open champion.
It was Noppawan’s first major title.
The Thai player finished 2008 as the world number one and began her Grand Slam year with a semi-final placing at the Australian Open before a disappointing second round exit at Roland Garros.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, July 04, 2009, 23:07