KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Seventh-seeded Donna Vekic of Croatia clinched her first WTA title on Sunday after beating top-seeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (4) in the Malaysian Open final.
The 17-year-old Vekic, playing in her third final, prevailed in a match that stretched to almost three hours.
Vekic, who fired 11 aces, failed to serve out the match when leading 5-2 in the third set but regained her rhythm in the tiebreaker.
Cibulkova, who reached the final of the Australian Open, had beaten Vekic in straight sets at Indian Wells last month in their only previous encounter.