Kubler and Bjorklund claim Ilkley titles
By James Reid
Jason Kubler and Mirjam Bjorklund both claimed victory at the LTA’s Lexus Ilkley Trophy to bring a thrilling week of tennis to an end.
Kubler, the Australian Open doubles champion, eased past Sebastian Ofner 6-4 6-4 to claim his first singles title of the year and the first of his career on grass.
Ofner had qualified for the final with a 6-3 6-0 victory over Zsombor Piros in less than hour, while Kubler was forced into a full three-set battle by Rothesay Open Nottingham runner-up Arthur Cazaux, eventually winning 4-6 6-3 6-1.
But the Australian showed no signs of tiredness to dominate proceedings, ceding not a single break point to Ofner in a straightforward affair to seal his eighth ATP Challenger title in style.
“I always knew today was going to be a tough match. Seb is a great player and he’s shown that all week – the form he’s been in has been incredible,” said Kubler.
“Today was just one of those days where I hit a lot of my spots on serve and got my returns when I needed it. It’s great to play these matches against top quality opponents like this.”
It was also a straight sets victory for Bjorklund, who earned her first title of 2023 with a 6-4 7-5 win over top seed Emma Navarro.
Navarro had not dropped a set en route to the final, including an impressive semi-final victory over Great Britain’s Sonay Kartal who was in great form after knocking out the fourth and fifth seeds to reach the last four.
But Bjorklund, who knocked out defending champion Dalma Galfi in her semi-final, proved too strong. The Swede broke seven times during the match, and despite failing to serve it out at 5-4 in the second set, regained her composure to break back and then seal the biggest title of her career so far.
For the latest action on the British summer grass court season, check out the LTA website
