Van Uytvanck beats Putintseva in Astana final

Alison Van Uytvanck came from a set down to claim her fifth WTA title, beating Yulia Putintseva 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the final of the Astana Open on Saturday.

The 27-year-old Belgian, who is ranked 89th in the world, had not won a title since the Tashkent tournament in late September 2019. 

In front of her home crowd in Nur-Sultan, Putintseva, a 26-year-old Kazakh ranked 47th in the world, started strongly. After Van Uytvanck won the opening game, Putintseva took the next six dropping just five points to clinch the first set.

The Belgian hit back in the opening game of the second set and although Putintseva broke twice so did the Belgian.

The Kazakh broke again at the start of the final set but her inability to hold her own serve cost her the chance to add a third career title.

Van Uytvanck again broke three times, including the final game of the match.