Photograph: WTA
Garcia Rolls On
Caroline Garcia claimed the ninth title of her career, defeating Ana Bogdan 6-4, 6-1 in the final of the BNP Paribas Poland Open.
En route to the final, Garcia defeated hometown hero and world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in a tight three-set battle.
Garcia’s triumph continues her career revival after slipping to No. 79 in the WTA rankings in May. Since then, she has won two singles titles on the WTA Tour and reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon.
Garcia raced out to a 3-0 in the first set before Bogdan, competing in her first final on the WTA Tour fought back to get the set on serve at 4-5. However, Garcia’s hitting was too much to handle as she immediately broke back to claim the first set.
The Frenchwoman broke in the fourth game of the second set and from there eased to the ninth title of her career.
"It was a tough match, every final is always tricky," Garcia said post-match.
"You know you’re at the last step and you want to make it happen, to hold the trophy in your hand.
"But that’s what both players want. Maybe today is an experience I had from the past finals, (they) helped me to manage my emotions a little bit better and be able to play my game, to be very aggressive and to know what I had to do."
Both women will now turn their attention to the US hard court swing.
Photograph: WTA
Home Sweet Home
Marie Bouzkova comfortably overcame Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-3 to win the Livesport Prague Open and her first title on the WTA Tour.
Bouzkova became the fifth Czech woman to win the title since the even began. She joins a list of hometown champions including Petra Kvitova, Barbora Krejcikova, Karolina Pliskova and Lucie Safarova.
Bouzkova played some scintillating tennis throughout the week, not losing a set en route to the first title of her career.
Despite losing her three previous WTA Tour singles finals, Bouzkova showed no nerves in her fourth final. The difference in the final was the unforced error account with Potapova hitting 44 unforced errors to Bouzkova’s 15.
“It's a dream for me to win my first title here at home," Bouzkova said in her post-match interview.
"I just couldn't be happier. It's a dream come true and I enjoyed playing in front of the home crowd so much.
"I was expecting a really tough match, which it was. I handled the beginning very well. She started off very strong, and I thought it was going to be a long match, but I was able to take a lot of chances, have this lead, and close it out.”
The win continues Bouzkova’s breakthrough year after she made her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at Wimbledon.