Photograph: Getty Images
Caroline Garcia has claimed her third WTA 1000 singles title and first since 2017 after a remarkable week of tennis at the Western and Southern Open.
Garcia initially came through qualifying, winning each of her matches in three sets en route to the main draw, before reeling off another six straight wins to claim her tenth career singles title.
The 28-year-old took down fourth seed Maria Sakkari, sixth seed Aryna Sabalenka, and seventh seed Jessica Pegula on her way to the final, before a dominant 6-2, 6-4 victory over Petra Kvitova in Sunday’s decider.
One win from the title, Garcia came out firing, neutralising Kvitova’s forehand power and turning it into winners of her own.
Converting early break point chances, the Frenchwomen raced to a 4-0 lead in the opening set – eventually taking it 6-2.
Garcia served brilliantly in the second set, hammering down seven aces and winning 83% of points behind her first serve.
Saving all four of Kvitova’s break point opportunities and converting one of her own, Garcia took the second 6-4 – to earn a well-deserved WTA 1000 title.
The 28-year-old is enjoying a purple patch of form, having won titles in June, July and now August – and has the most wins on the WTA tour over the past three months.
After falling to world number 79 at the beginning of June – her lowest ranking since 2014 - Garcia has now risen back to 17 after a triumphant week.
From an Australian perspective, Ajla Tomljanovic enjoyed a successful week, reaching her maiden WTA 1000 singles quarterfinal.
The 29-year-old also came through qualifying and won five straight matches to move into the last eight for the first time.
Her run included a 6-7(3), 6-0, 6-2 win over third seed Paula Badosa – the Aussie’s second top five win of the season.
Despite successfully defending her Wimbledon quarterfinal berth last month, Tomljanovic dropped down to world number 72 last week – due to Wimbledon’s points strip.
However, the Aussie has now jumped back up inside the WTA top 50 – to a live ranking of 48.
In Cincinnati doubles action, Australian Ellen Perez reached a second consecutive WTA 1000 final, but fell just short of a maiden title at the level.
Perez teamed up with America’s Nicole Melichar-Martinez, winning four matches on their way to the final, including a dominant 6-3, 6-2 defeat of second seeds Krejcikova and Siniakova.
As was the case last week in Toronto, the pair fell at the final hurdle – this time going down 7-6(5), 6-3 to seventh seeds Kichenok and Ostapenko.
However, a remarkable fortnight of doubles for Perez boosts her to world number 28 in the WTA doubles rankings – our third Aussie inside the top 30 alongside Stosur and Sanders.
Vancouver, Canada – WTA 125K
[Q] Valentini Grammatikopoulou (GRE) def [2] Lucia Bronzetti (ITA) 6-2, 6-4
While the bulk of the WTA tour landed in Cincinnati, a 125K event took place in Vancouver – and despite the change in city, we enjoyed a similar qualifying triumph.
Greece’s Valentini Grammatikopoulou came through qualifying and won seven matches in eight days to claim the biggest title of her career.
The 25-year-old had previously won twelve ITF titles – all coming at 25K level or lower – so has enjoyed a large jump to claim the equivalent of an ATP Challenger title this week.
The Greek had to overcome second seed Lucia Bronzetti in the final, with the Italian having not dropped a set in any of her first four matches.
However, Grammatikopoulou proved too powerful for her Italian counterpart, firing winners off both her forehand and backhand wings to claim a comfortable victory.
The Greek champion will now rise to a career high WTA ranking of 143 – up almost 100 places after her brilliant week.
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