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Eastbourne (United Kingdom) (AFP)

Third seed Karolina Pliskova defeated Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday at the Eastbourne International to underline her status as a Wimbledon title contender.

The Czech secured her third title of the season after breaking Wozniacki once in both sets, leaving the Dane still searching for a first trophy since her win in Hong Kong last October.

Pliskova needed 90 minutes to win the trophy and become the first top-10 player to win the event since former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli in 2011.

The world number three was clinical in going one better than when she lost to Dominika Cibulkova in last year's final, becoming the first Czech to win the Eastbourne title since Jana Novotna in 1998.

The 25-year-old fired ten aces in an impressive serving display, as Wozniacki was unsuccessful on four break-point chances.

Pliskova will go into Wimbledon as one of the favourites for the title, having also reached the French Open semi-finals at Roland Garros last month.

Former world number one Novak Djokovic faces French second seed Gael Monfils later on Saturday for the men's title on the English south coast.

© 2017 AFP