Caroline Garcia, Borna Coric takes 1st title in Cincinnati

Caroline Garcia gained momentum heading into the US Open in a week’s time, capturing the Western & Southern Open women’s championship with a 6-2 6-4 win over Petra Kvitova.

Borna Coric continued his huge run up the men’s rankings with a 7-6 (0) 6-2 victory over no. 5 Stefanos completes an improbable run to the championship with victory over Tsitsipas.

The 25-year-old Coric will be ranked 29th at the US Open. He started the tournament at 152 and upset five seeded players and four in the top 10, including Rafael Nadal. The Croatian enters the tournament with a protected injury ranking.

The 24-year-old Tsitsipas from Greece is trying to become the first man to win championships on three surfaces this season: hard court, grass and clay. He has won a tour-high 46 matches this season.

Tsitsipas raced to a 4-1 lead in the first set, but he couldn’t hold on and he wasn’t sure why.

I’m not in a position to answer that, because I’m still looking for an answer myself.

“I don’t have a clear answer to that. He serves well. He moves me a lot. He plays the way he always plays. He hasn’t changed much. The less he misses, the more he makes. Life is hard.” “I realized I needed to be more aggressive,” Coric said.

“I have nothing to lose. If I keep playing the way I’m playing, I know I’m going to lose anyway. I just have to hit the ball hard and deep.”

In the women’s final, Garcia was already the first qualifier to reach the title match and Kvitova’s second serve hit the net to win. After the last point Garcia dropped to her knees and lay on her back on the court.

“Pure joy,” said Garcia, the first French woman to win the tournament.

“Just joy. Every single win is important. Every single title is so special. It’s always so hard to describe. It doesn’t happen very often, and you really have to love it. I’m really grateful for this great week. Tennis, and winning another title is so special.” The 28-year-old has won 27 matches on the WTA Tour since June.

Kvitova, ranked 28, and Garcia, ranked 35, both lost in the first round to make their first appearance in the Cincinnati final in Toronto the previous week.

Garcia broke through her Czech opponent in the first game and raced to a 4-0 lead. Garcia also got the early edge in the second set with a first game break.

The 32-year-old Kvitova left the court for injury treatment after trailing 2-0 in the second set. She looked sharper on the return but couldn’t overcome the early break.

“Definitely not the result I wanted, but … I have to take it as it is and look at the positives,” Kyotwa said.

“I know it hurts right now, but on the other hand, I have to look at it overall and be proud of my 40th final in my career.”