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France's Caroline Garcia clinched the Bad Homburg Open women's single title after beating Canada's Bianca Andreescu in the final, here on Saturday.
Former Top 10 player Garcia came from a set and a break down against resurgent 2019 US Open winner Bianca Andreescu to win her first WTA singles title in three years. Though, she and fellow Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic had partnered to win their second Roland Garros doubles title earlier this month. Andreescu led 7-6(5), 4-2 before Garcia won four straight games to level the match, and was also up 2-0 in the final set. In the match's final game, Garcia held serve from 0-30 down to close out the 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4 win. The 28-year old hit a crunching forehand winner at 30-30 to earn championship point, and dropped to the ground in celebration when Andreescu's final ball floated long to end the 2 hour, 42-minute championship. Garcia now owns three grass-court singles titles, having previously triumphed in Mallorca in 2016 and in Nottingham in 2019. She previously saved match point to beat compatriot Alize Cornet in the semifinals, and also came from a set down in her opening round win against Aliaksandra Sasnovich. Having arrived in Bad Homburg ranked No.75, Garcia will return to the Top 60 with her victory. On the other hand, Andreescu was bidding to win her first title since her famous triumph in New York three years ago. She hadn't lost a set en route to the final, knocking off No 7 seed and Roland Garros semifinalist Martina Trevisan in Round 1, and knocking out top seed Daria Kasatkina in the quarterfinals. She also received a walkover from No 4 seed Simona Halep in the semifinals, as the former World No 1 withdrew with a neck injury. Both women now turn their attention to Wimbledon as Garcia will play her first round match against British wildcard Yuriko Miyazaki on Monday, while Andreescu opens against American qualifier Emina Bektas on Tuesday. --IANS avn/cs ( 343 Words) 2022-06-25-23:24:01 (IANS)
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