Shnaider defeats Sasnovich to win Hungarian Open title

Diana Shnaider continued her excellent breakthrough season to beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-4, 6-4 and lift her third title of the season by winning the Hungarian Open in Budapest.

Prior to 2024, the Russian had never won a WTA title and only reached one tour-level final in her career. But today, she has clinched her third of the year, adding to her title triumphs at Bad Homburg and Hua Hin in an increasingly impressive season.

Top-seeded in Budapest, Shnaider powered her way through the field this week with the loss of only one set across five matches.

The final today was a topsy-turvy affair, with both players conceding a total of twelve breaks (five on Shnaider’s serve and seven for Sasnovich.)

But it was the Russian who ultimately came out on top, adding a clay-court title to her impressive haul this year that also includes one on grass and another on hard courts.

Ahead of her victory, Shnaider, ranked No 28, defeated Hungarian wildcard Fanny Stollar (6-3, 3-6, 6-4), qualifier Ekaterina Makarova (6-3, 6-3), German lucky loser Ella Seidel (6-4, 6-2) and German Eva Lys (6-3, 6-3).

Sasnovich, ranked No 134, beat Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomova, the second seed (2-6, 6-2, 6-4), Russian Maria Timofeeva (6-3, 6-4), Dutchwoman Suzan Lamens (6-4, 2-6, 6-4) and Slovak Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (6-3, 3-6, 7-5) in the previous rounds of the Budapest tournament.