MY ACCOUNT
Qualifier Caroline Garcia is the Western & Southern Open champion after beating Petra Kvitova in straight sets in the final in Cincinnati.
Garcia had already made history by becoming the first qualifier to reach a WTA 1000 tournament final after her victory over sixth seed Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-final.
And she carried on her impressive form to cruise to a 6-2 6-4 victory over world number 28 Kvitova in a final that lasted one hour and 36 minutes.
The Frenchwoman overcame fourth seed Maria Sakkari and seventh seed Jessica Pegula on her way to the final, and she served 11 aces in Sunday’s match while converting three of her four break points against her Czech opponent.
Kvitova failed to win any of her eight break points and lost the opening four games of the match to give herself a mountain to climb. She finally got on the board in the fifth, but only won five more games as she finished the tournament with a disappointing performance.
Garcia, whose highest rank was fourth in 2018, has her serve to thank after winning 82 per cent of her first serve points while being victorious in all nine of her service games.
The victory gives the 28-year-old her third WTA 1000 title and makes her the first qualifier to win a WTA 1000 event since the category was created in 2009.
