Bouchard claims first career title

Nuremberg, Germany (SportsNetwork.com) - Canada's Eugenie Bouchard outlasted Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in Saturday's final of the Nurnberger Cup to capture her first career WTA title.

The second-seeded Bouchard, in her second career final, earned a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 triumph on Saturday. Her previous title match ended in a loss to Samantha Stosur last year in Osaka.

Bouchard, a semifinalist at the Australian Open earlier this year, became just the second Canadian to win a WTA crown since 1988. Aleksandra Wozniak was the last Canadian to win, taking the title at Stanford in 2008.

"This is kind of like a stepping stone for me," said Bouchard. "Winning a WTA title is of course a goal I've had, and I'm so happy to accomplish it, but I still want to achieve more -- more titles, bigger titles -- so this is a step in the right direction, and it's part of the dream, but I want to move forward and keep going from here."

Pliskova appeared headed toward a straight set defeat, trailing 2-4 in the second set. She then won four straight games to force a decisive set, but trailed from the outset of the third and never recovered.

Bouchard beat Pliskova for the second time in as many meetings, also winning a first-round match at the U.S. Open last year.

Pliskova fell to 1-2 in WTA finals. She won in Kuala Lumpur last year and fell to Ekaterina Makarova in the title match at Pattaya City back in February.

Both will play next week in the French Open. Bouchard will take on Shahar Peer in her opener, while Pliskova will meet Mathilde Johansson in the first round.