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ANTWERP, Belgium - Andrea Petkovic won the BNP Paribas Fortis Diamond Games on Sunday when her opponent, Carla Suárez Navarro, had to withdraw before the match with a neck injury.

Watch highlights, interviews and more videos from Antwerp right here on wtatennis.com!

"I woke up in the morning and just felt this pain in my neck," the Spanish No.1 told reporters. "I went to the physio to get treatment and tried to play at 11:30, then had physio again and tried to play again at 2:15, and I just couldn't serve. I couldn't play like I wanted. So I had to pull out of this final.

"I'm really sorry. I love this tournament and I had a great week. I really tried today."

The fans still got a great show, though - Kim Clijsters, a four-time Grand Slam champion and former World No.1 who is now Tournament Director of the Premier-level stop, stepped in for an exhibition match with Petkovic, and she thrilled her home fans with some fierce hitting and a 5-3 victory.

The always-charismatic Petkovic won the crowd over in her post-match interview, though.

"I hope you don't take any offense Kim," she said, "but I'm glad you are done playing on tour."

Don't let the walkover in the final take anything away from Petkovic's triumph, either. She had to work very, very hard just to get to the final, including an absolute marathon in her second round match against Belgian wildcard Alison Van Uytvanck, saving eight match points and battling for three hours and 19 minutes - the longest match of the year so far - to earn a 6-7(7), 7-6(5), 6-2 victory.

And by virtue of her results in Antwerp, Petkovic will break back into the Top 10 this week, her 27th career week inside the elite. She spent her first 26 weeks there from August 8, 2011 and April 1, 2012 - she fell as low as No.192 in the time between due to a series back, ankle and knee injuries.

The Premier-level BNP Paribas Fortis Diamond Games is Petkovic's equal-biggest career title - she won her first Premier-level title at Charleston last year. The German has six WTA titles in total.

Petkovic spoke about the final walkover against Suárez Navarro in her post-match press conference.

"Right before we went on court I was warming up and they told me the news. At first I was very shocked because I didn't know anything about her physical pain and the blockage. But secondly I was sad. I really like Carla - she's a great person and always friendly and positive, and she has a tremendous amount of talent. Also, you can never really enjoy the win when you don't fight for it.

"So I'm happy I had a great week and I'm leaving as the champion, but definitely mixed emotions."

The doubles went to No.1 seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santonja, who beat An-Sophie Mestach and Alison Van Uytvanck, 6-4, 3-6, 10-5. It was their first WTA doubles title together.

PATTAYA CITY, Thailand - A day after they spent a combined total of almost six hours to win their semifinal matches, Daniela Hantuchova and Ajla Tomljanovic had another battle on their hands in the final of the PTT Thailand Open - and it was experience that just edged out youth this time.

Tomljanovic, who won an all-WTA Rising Star showdown against Monica Puig the day before, came out stronger in the final, taking the first set in 32 minutes and looking safely in control up 6-3, 2-1.

But Hantuchova has been no stranger to battling back - she saved two match points to beat Marina Erakovic in the semis - and she found another second wind in the final, winning eight of the next nine games to take the second set, 6-3, and jump out to a 3-0 lead in the third and deciding set.

Tomljanovic got things back to 3-all, and then 4-all too, but Hantuchova made one last push right at the end, holding then breaking one last time to win in two hours and seven minutes, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

"Today was very tough because Ajla was playing some great tennis," Hantuchova said. "I had to really fight for it - at the end I felt maybe I was a little fresher and sharper, and that decided the match.

"But Ajla has a great future ahead of her. She's also a very nice girl. It's nice to have somebody like her in the game. And like I said on the court, I'm sure she'll have many more finals to come."

This is the third time Hantuchova has won the PTT Thailand Open, her first two titles here coming in 2011 and 2012. She has seven WTA titles overall now, including Indian Wells in 2002 and 2007.

"It means so much to me to win this tournament three times. I've never done that in my career and never thought I'd be able to," the former World No.5 said. "It's always a special feeling playing in Pattaya. I've felt great here since the first match, and I'm very proud I kept it up all week."

It was a breakthrough week for Tomljanovic regardless of the final result - she had never even been to a WTA semifinal before, let alone a WTA final. Things are really looking up for the 21-year-old.

"There are too many positives from the week. I'm going to try not to dwell on this too much," she said. "I'll just try to learn from it. There are things I can learn from this match and the week.

"Overall I think this was a really big step forward for me in Pattaya."

The doubles title went to No.1 seeds the Chan sisters - Hao-Ching and Yung-Jan - who beat Shuko Aoyama and Tamarine Tanasugarn, 2-6, 6-4, 10-3. It was the Chans' third WTA doubles title together, having won the International title in Shenzhen in 2013 and the Premier title in Eastbourne in 2014.

DUBAI, UAE - Simona Halep brushed off a first set blowout to beat Caroline Wozniacki and reach the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. WTA Rising Star Karolina Pliskova awaits.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Dubai right here on wtatennis.com!

A day after surviving a marathon against her Australian Open conqueror, Ekaterina Makarova, Halep was outplayed early on by Wozniacki, who lost just five points in four service games en route to taking the first set in just 30 minutes. But the No.1-seeded Halep went right to work, storming out to a 4-0 lead in the second set and, once she tucked that one away, she jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third.

In the end Halep ended up running away with it against the No.3-seeded Wozniacki, 2-6, 6-1, 6-1.

"When I started the match I started with bad tactics - I was just hitting every ball and I made too many mistakes. I couldn't find my rhythm," Halep said afterwards. "In the second set I knew I had to change it and just play with good length and open the court more. I knew I couldn't force it too much like I did in the first set. That worked very well for me, and I just kept doing it until the end of the match."

Wozniacki, a former champion in Dubai, had been struggling with a cold throughout the week.

"I think it's taken a toll on me, but I'm still pretty pleased with my week considering everything that has been going on," Wozniacki said. "But today it was like the air of the balloon just kind of went out."

Halep is now a win away from the equal-biggest title of her career - she won another Premier 5-level title a year ago in Doha. She would also return to No.3 on the WTA Rankings by winning the title.

Awaiting Halep in the final is the No.17-seeded Pliskova, who blasted 13 aces and saved 13 of 14 break points to win a marathon against fellow WTA Rising Star Garbiñe Muguruza, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5.

Coming into Dubai, Pliskova had never even been to the quarterfinals of a tournament this big.

"I was already tired in Antwerp because I went from Fed Cup in Canada to Antwerp, and I wasn't sure what was going to happen here because I came during the night," Pliskova said. "But sometimes it's better than to be here practicing all week, because I wasn't even thinking this could happen, and I didn't expect at all that this could happen before the tournament, so I'm just really happy right now."

Halep and Pliskova will be playing against each other for the first time.

"To be honest, I don't like to play girls who are serving so strong, but I have a good return, I think," Halep said. "But tomorrow won't just be about the serve. It's about everything. She hits the ball very strong. I have to be really focused, stay close to the line, and play smart but also aggressive.

"If I fight I can win. I believe in my chances and we'll see what happens tomorrow."

DOHA, Qatar - Lucie Safarova won the biggest title of her career on Saturday night, beating Victoria Azarenka in straight sets for the Qatar Total Open title - her very first Premier-level title.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Doha right here on wtatennis.com!

There were signs earlier in the week something big was happening. Unseeded, Safarova took out three seeds en route to the final, namely No.5 seed Ekaterina Makarova, No.6 seed Andrea Petkovic and No.9 seed Carla Suárez Navarro. And although she out-ranked Azarenka, that comparison was misleading - Azarenka is a former World No.1 and had won all six of their previous meetings.

A break for Safarova in the first game of the match set the tone, as she rode that break to a 3-1 lead, and after eventually taking the first set, 6-4, she built another 3-1 lead in the second set. From there there was no stopping the Czech, who served impeccably in the match - she hit seven aces in eight service games, including three in a row at one point - and she wrapped the victory up, 6-4, 6-3.

"I felt really good all week here and my performances were better and better, and I just wanted to use the opportunity to really go for it and take the title," Safarova said after the match. "I think I just really enjoyed it out there tonight, the atmosphere, the crowd - and just really went for every point."

The Qatar Total Open is Safarova's sixth WTA title but by far the biggest of them all, being at the Premier level. Her first five WTA titles were all at the International level, namely Oeiras and Forest Hills in 2005, Gold Coast in 2006, Forest Hills again in 2008 and most recently Québec City in 2013.

There's more good news for Safarova - she will rise from No.15 to No.11 on the new WTA Rankings after this, a new career-high - coming into this week her career-high WTA Ranking was No.14.

"I'm really excited and happy about this because it took me quite a few years to get to this point," Safarova said. "I hope it's not a finish point and I can still improve. My game improved a lot the last couple of years. I think me and my coach, Rob Steckley, have been doing a great job together. It's just hard work and also maturing a little bit - I think it's just everything coming together right now."

Azarenka was on a 14-match winning streak at this tournament, having won the title in her last two appearances in 2012 and 2013 (she had to sit out the 2014 tournament due to a foot injury).

The two-time Australian Open champion was playing her first WTA final since last January, though.

"It's been a long week for me. It's been a while since I had that many matches in a row," Azarenka said. "Sometimes the body needs to get back into that rhythm. It wasn't my best today, but I tried my best.

"And there's been a lot of progress this week. A lot of good things happened, a lot of great matches. There are a lot of things I can take with me and can keep working on - I'm still really motivated. I'm obviously disappointed for losing the final today, but I just have to move on from this quickly."

ACAPULCO, México - Timea Bacsinszky's incredible comeback hit its highest point yet on Saturday, as the Swiss - who was basically out of the game for years - won her first WTA title since 2009.

Taking on the No.3-seeded Caroline Garcia, the No.5-seeded Bacsinszky reeled off eight games in a row from 4-3 in the opening set to completely run away with the final in 66 minutes, 6-3, 6-0.

The end of the final was the complete opposite of the beginning of Bacsinszky's first round match - not only did she drop the first set to Richel Hogenkamp in that one, but she was down a break twice in the second set and again in the third set against the Dutch qualifier. But she got through that one in three sets, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, and never lost another set en route to the Abierto Mexicano TELCEL title.

It's been a long road back for Bacsinszky. Once one of the fastest-rising young stars on the tour, winning Luxembourg in 2009 and going as high as No.37 in the world in 2010, her 2011, 2012 and 2013 seasons were completely marred by a series of injuries. She fell as low as No.578 in April 2012.

But after grinding her way back up the rankings in 2014, starting at No.237 and finishing No.48, the Swiss has gone to even higher heights this year, surpassing her previous career-high from 2010 and, now, winning the second WTA title of her career on the beautiful blue hardcourts of Acapulco.

"Maybe I'm like a good wine - with time, I'm better!" Bacsinszky joked to the press afterwards.

"But seriously, I almost stopped playing in 2013. When I decided to play again, at the French Open in 2013, I got a new team around me - new coach, new fitness coach, I've been working a lot with Swiss tennis. The road was long, and it'll still be long, but I've been working hard. I wasn't just expecting the results to come right away, I was patient. I knew I needed time to build everything up.

"I'm really proud. And knowing what I've been through, I'm even prouder."

The doubles title went to No.2-seeded Spaniards Lara Arruabarrena and María-Teresa Torró-Flor, who missed out on a match point up a set and 5-4 and then had to fight off a match point down 11-10 in the match tie-break to beat No.1 seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka, 7-6(2), 5-7, 13-11.

Arruabarrena now has four WTA doubles titles, Torró-Flor three. It was their first together.