TAIPEI: Thailand’s Luksika Kumkhum powered past former Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki 6-1 6-3 to clinch the Taipei Open title on Sunday. Second seed Kumkhum, who had not dropped a set in the previous rounds, maintained that clinical record against the German wildcard. Lisicki was on the back foot early in the contest as she dropped her serve three times in the opening set, struggling to keep up with Kumkhum’s searing groundstokes. It took Kumkhum just 21 minutes to wrap up the opening set before converting another break point to claim her second WTA 125k series title of the season. Kumkhum, who won her maiden career title at Mumbai Open earlier this month, is enjoying the best spell of her career. Published in Daily Times, November 19th 2018.