Cristea wins first WTA title in 13 years at the Istanbul Open

Sorana Cirstea won her first WTA Tour title in 13 years on Sunday, with a 6-1, 7-6(3) victory over Elise Mertens of Belgium in the final of the BNP Paribas Tennis championship in Istanbul, Turkey.

The 31 year-old Romanian world number 67 reeled off four games in a row from 2-1 to take the opening set, but then the top seed fought back, breaking serve to lead 3-1 in the second.

Mertens served to level the match at 5-3, but was broken to love as Cirstea put together another 4-game run to lead 6-5.

She then served for the match but she too was broken as Mertens forced a tiebreak.

Eight out of the first nine points in the breaker went against serve but Cirstea held her nerve to take it 7-3 and completed the win after an hour and 42 minutes on court.

Cirstea, who didn't drop a set all week in Istanbul, won her first WTA singles title way back in 2008, when she triumphed in Tashkent as an 18 year-old.