Kirsty Gilmour fulfilled one of her biggest ambitions yesterday when she claimed the Scottish Open Grand Prix women’s singles title with a straight sets win over Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt at the Emirates Arena.
The 24-year-old, who went into her home tournament as the top seed, had previously been a runner-up in three major finals in the same arena, twice in this event and also at the Commonwealth Games in 2014 where she picked up the last of Scotland’s medals.
She was made to battle through a first set in which only once before the midway break, when she led 10-8, was there more than a point between the players who had never met one another previously and the 20-year-old number three seed turned that around by winning four points in a row at that stage.
The set was extended after Gilmour failed to capitalise on two game points, however she eventually took it in 26 minutes, before recovering from a slight dip which saw her lose the first four points of the second set to pull clear by winning six out of eight points from 8-8, gradually extending that advantage on her way to a popular 23-21, 21-12 victory.
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