Bethanie Mattek-Sands falls in Malaysian Open final

Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic fought back from a poor first set to beat American Bethanie Mattek-Sands 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 on Sunday to win the Malaysian

Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic fought back from a poor first set to beat American Bethanie Mattek-Sands 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 on Sunday to win the Malaysian Open.

Both players were vying for their first WTA singles title, with the 127th-ranked Pliskova winning in her first final.

Wild card Mattek-Sands - a former top-30 player who has slipped to No. 197 - struggled against her Czech opponent in the third set, which was delayed by more than 30 minutes due to an evening rainstorm.