![]() ![]() Going into the WTA Finals, Garcia was the only entrant in the eight-player field to beat Swiatek - but was ranked 45th when she did it at the Poland Open in July. That semifinal victory ended a 15-match winning streak against top-10 opponents that was the longest on tour in 35 years. Sabalenka reached the title match by beating top-ranked Iga Swiatek. “I just dropped my level for a little bit on the tiebreak and in the first game of the second set,” Sabalenka said. She ripped a forehand winner down the line on Sabalenka’s serve to go in front for good. Two break chances came quickly in the first game of the second set, but Garcia only needed one. Garcia finished with 11 aces to four for Sabalenka. Sabalenka’s third double fault ended the set. Garcia won six consecutive points in the tiebreaker, capped by her 10th ace of the first set for a 6-2 lead. ![]() The first set went to a tiebreaker without a break of serve in a meeting of the tour (Garcia) and tournament (Sabalenka) leaders in aces coming into the match. “We did know that we were two powerful players, and I think we played that way,” Garcia said. The 24-year-old Sabalenka was trying to become the first from her country to win the WTA Finals. 7 player from Belarus just her third loss in 12 career hard-court finals. The only player to win titles on all three surfaces this season, Garcia was just as comfortable as Sabalenka on the temporary indoor hard court at Dickies Arena near downtown Fort Worth.Īs a result, Garcia handed the No. The 29-year-old is the oldest WTA Finals winner since Serena Williams at 33 in 2014. Garcia won her last six sets after dropping the first in a winner-take-all match against Daria Kasatkina in group play. Coronavirus restrictions also played a part in the decision. The event was moved to Texas from China over concerns about the safety of Peng Shuai, a Grand Slam doubles champion who accused a former government official there of sexual assault. ![]() “It’s been a crazy, crazy final, a lot of intensity on every single point from the beginning.” “It’s definitely a lot of joy and happiness,” Garcia told reporters about an hour later, cowboy hat still on and with the trophy on a table just to her left. When Sabalenka sent a forehand long, Garcia dropped to the court on her back and put clenched fists over her eyes. Tied in the deciding game of a match with just one break point, Garcia’s service winner gave her a second chance to close it out. The sixth-ranked Garcia became the second player from France to win the season-ending event after Amelie Mauresmo in 2005, also the last time the WTA Finals were held in the US. Garcia took a tight first set and went on to a 7-6(4), 6-4 victory over Aryna Sabalenka to win the championship of the WTA Finals on Monday night. There was plenty for the Frenchwoman to like in Cowtown. FORT WORTH, Texas: Caroline Garcia plopped on a cowboy hat to go with the trophy she was holding after telling fans she had enjoyed her first trip to Texas. ![]()
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