Garcia overpowers Barty to win Wuhan Open
WUHAN: Caroline Garcia overpowered Australia’s Ashleigh Barty to claim her first Wuhan Open title in a thrilling seesaw final in the Chinese city.
Ranked 20 in the world, Garcia battled her way through two tight sets against Barty before breezing the third to claim the biggest title of her career.
“It was a such a fight all the week and especially today,” she said after the match yesterday.
“A title is the best thing you can have in tennis, that’s why you fight all year long. I’m over the moon for sure.”
It was the first professional meeting between the pair after 23-year-old Garcia beat Barty on her way to the 2011 US Open Girls’ final.
■ TASHKENT (Uzbekistan): Ukraine’s veteran Kateryna Bondarenko beat second seeded Timea Babos of Hungary in straight sets to claim the title at Tashkent Open yesterday.
Bondarenko, 31, who is 133rd in the WTA rankings, prevailed 6-4, 6-4 in one hour 28 minutes.
“I played a good match today with some really good rallies,” Bondarenko, who won her maiden WTA title in Birmingham in 2008, said.
“I was happy to finish the match in two sets, I was getting tired.”
Ukraine’s veteran looked confident from the start and broke her rival’s serve in the seventh game for a one-set lead after 38 minutes.
In the second set Bondarenko broke early again for a comfortable 3-0 lead, which she kept throughout to claim her career’s second WTA title. — AFP