Sabine Lisicki recovered to win the WTA Hong Kong Tennis Open

The world number 31, who received a wildcard to play in the tournament, found herself 5-1 down in the first set of Sunday's showpiece before battling back to win 7-5 6-3 in emphatic fashion.

Top seed Lisicki again showcased gutsy attitude when it mattered most after digging deep earlier this week to progress from a set down in her first-round clash with Monica Niculescu and after being taken to a decider by Francesca Schiavone in the semi-finals.

Victory for Lisicki means the German was left to celebrate her first WTA singles title in more than three years since her success in Dallas in 2011.

But Lisicki could not have hoped for a worse start against the third seed as she was broken twice in quick succession in an error-ridden first set before regaining some composure to claim six games in a row.

Lisicki made it seven consecutive games at the start of the second until Pliskova stopped the rot.

Momentum appeared to be swinging back in Pliskova's favour when she scrapped from 4-1 down to 4-3, but Lisicki forced a crucial break in the eighth game before successfully serving out for the match.