Caroline Garcia is kicking serious grass, just in time for Wimbledon…
The 22-year-old part-Spanish tennis player hit an ace on match point to close out a 6-3, 6-4 victory on Sunday over Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova in the Mallorca Open final and claim her first-ever title on grass.
Things turned in Garcia’s favor starting in the seventh game of the match, when she reeled off three games in a row to take the first set.
Sevastova, who had had to spend a night in the hospital earlier in the week due to a stomach virus, continued to battle in the second set but was hurt by her low first-serve percentage – 41 percent – and also was unable to make any impression on Garcia’s service games.
Garcia, the tournament’s sixth seed, defeated former World No. 1 Ana Ivanovic in the quarterfinals and former Wimbledon finalist Kirsten Flipkens in the semifinals to reach her first final on grass.
It’s Garcia’s second singles title of the year, the third of her career.
Garcia, whose two previous WTA Tour titles had both come on clay, said afterward that she felt comfortable in Mallorca because the ball bounces higher and skids less at this tournament than other grass-court events.
She will now look to keep her momentum going at tennis’ premier grass-court showcase, Wimbledon, which gets under way on June 27.
