Third seed wins WTA Internationaux de Strasbourg

Sam Stosur fought back from a set down to beat Kristina Mladenovic 3-6 6-2 6-3 and clinch the Internationaux de Strasbourg title on Saturday.

Third seed Stosur, who had beaten Mladenovic in each of their previous encounters, was taken the distance by Sloane Stephens on Friday in the semi-finals of the clay-court event.

And the Australian was perhaps still feeling the effects of that encounter as Mladenovic - playing her first WTA Tour final - raced into a 3-0 lead.

Stosur, the world number 26, displayed her fighting qualities to level at 3-3, but Mladenovic rallied to break again in the eighth game before holding out to take the opener.

Mladenovic saw two break points go begging in the third game of the second set, and that ultimately proved costly as Stosur reeled off four consecutive games from 2-2 to level the match.

The Frenchwoman was then up against it in the decider when Stosur broke for a 3-1 lead. Mladenovic saw three break points go amiss when trailing 4-2, and Stosur served out to love in the ninth game to win a seventh career WTA title.

Stosur will now look ahead to the French Open and a first-round clash with Madison Brengle, while Mladenovic faces Eugenie Bouchard in her opener at Roland Garros.