Beijing: Caroline Garcia’s magical run through China has reached new heights. The World No.15 from France shocked impending World No.1 Simona Halep of Romania, 6-4, 7-6(7-3), to win the China Open here Sunday. Garcia has won her second consecutive title and eleventh straight match, and will enter the Top 10 at World No.9 Monday after her heroics.
Garcia also now sits in eighth position in the Porsche Race to Singapore, putting herself ahead of Johanna Konta of Great Britain for the final singles spot at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
Moreover, Garcia became the first ever player to win the Dongfeng Motors Wuhan Open and the China Open in the same year.
The final was exceptionally close. Garcia and Halep each finished with 76 points won, their ratios of winners to unforced errors were similar, and they had nearly equal success rates on their service winning percentages.
Garcia, however, got one more break of service than Halep, and that opportunity was the difference in the match. Halep could only break once, and even though she had ten break points in the match, there were only two games in the entire match where she held break point at all.
The match started with an exchange of breaks, as both players tried to find their rhythm under the closed roof on a rainy day in Beijing. From there, the set evolved into a litany of intriguing rallies, usually pitting the powerful forehand of Garcia against Halep’s excellent mobility.
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