Garcia overpowers Barty, storms to Wuhan title
Sharapova digs deep in China Open epic
WUHAN, China, Sept 30, (Agencies): Caroline Garcia overpowered Australia’s Ashleigh Barty 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 6-2 to claim her first Wuhan Open title on Saturday in a thrilling see-saw 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,” the French player said after the match.
“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.”
Garcia stormed her way into an early lead in the first set but a resilient Barty twice came from a break down to force a tiebreak that she went on to dominate.
The Aussie served for the match twice in the second, while her opponent also had two chances to nab the set before it was forced into another tiebreak.
The third set was simpler for Garcia, who fell to her knees in celebration after Barty fired a return into the net.
“My first serve deserted me a bit but I put myself in a position where I was only a few points away from the final,” said Barty.
“Disappointing to not come away with it in the end but sometimes it crumbles that way,” she added.
“But it’s still been a hell of a week, probably the best week of my tennis
Sharapova
career.”
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.
In Beijing, Maria Sharapova gained revenge over the Latvian 16th seed Anastasija Sevastova with a gutsy 7-6 (7/3), 5-7, 7-6 (9/7) victory in the China Open first round on Saturday.
It was the five-time Grand Slam winner’s first appearance since she was beaten by Sevastova at the US Open in early September and gets her stop-start return from a doping ban back on track.
Sharapova, ranked 104 in the world, is a wildcard in Beijing as she works her way back slowly from a 15-month ban for taking the banned substance meldonium.
She was far from her best, but Sharapova dug in during an attritional match lasting more than three hours.
Sevastova broke the Russian former number one — who had the majority of the crowd behind her — in the seventh game of the first set to seize the early initiative.
Sharapova immediately broke back for 4-4, before falling 6-5 down on her own serve when her drop shot went astray, only to strike back immediately to force a tie break.
“Come on!” the former China Open champion Sharapova shouted as she wrapped up the first-set tie break.
The 30-year-old looked set to race through the second set to book her place in round two.
But her serve was suspect all match and the Latvian refused to submit.
Caroline Garcia of France poses with her trophy after beating Ashleigh Barty of Australia during the women’s singles final match at the WTA Wuhan Open tennis tournament in Wuhan, in China’s central Hubei province on Sept 30. (AFP)
Level A winners
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Level B winners
Level D winners