Garcia in China Open wonderland

Caroline Garcia’s remarkable run of form continued at the China Open, the French star beating soon-to-be world No.1 Simona Halep 6-4 7-6(3) in a high-quality final.

The result caps a remarkable fortnight for Garcia, who became the first player to win the Wuhan Open and China Open in successive weeks (her two biggest tournament wins to date), and she has now jumped above Johanna Konta in the race for the last spot at the WTA Finals in Singapore.

Both women entered the match having enjoyed an emotional rollercoaster in Beijing. For Halep, there was the two-pronged pleasure of beating Maria Sharapova for the first time, and becoming world No.1. For Garcia, it was riding the wave of momentum that saw her defeat Elina Svitolina in a marathon quarterfinal, and then sweep past Petra Kvitova into the semifinals – and the world’s Top 10.

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The question was: who would be able to summon up one last push in the final?

The answer appeared to be both. The pair traded breaks at the start of the first set, but from then on it was a high quality, fiercely fought contest. With neither woman able to fashion a breakthrough, a tiebreak seemed inevitable. However, with Halep serving at 4-5, Garcia suddenly espied an opening. She didn’t need a second invitation to take the set, which she did 6-4.

Like the set before it, the second was a hard-fought affair. The pair traded routine holds until the seventh game, which may live long in Halep’s memory. The Romanian had nine break points, and was unable to convert any of them.

.@CaroGarcia is your @ChinaOpen champion!

She upsets Halep, 6-4, 7-6(3), to claim her 11th-consecutive win! pic.twitter.com/alZB092pC7

— WTA (@WTA) October 8, 2017

It was a reprieve for Garcia, and the beginning of the end for Halep.

As the set edged into the tiebreak, Garcia grew as the finish line loomed. Some simple mistakes from Halep gave her an opening, and the Frenchwoman duly pounced. At the end of it all an exhausted Garcia sunk to her knees, before accepting the giant China Open trophy.

“I was like, Seriously, this really happen?” Garcia said after the match. “I mean, it was such an amazing two weeks. It went so fast. I have the feeling I started these tournaments yesterday or two days ago.

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“The key was definitely to be aggressive and try to dominate the rallies. My serve was really an important thing because she’s very good returner, always trying to bring back the return, start the rally.”

Simona Halep was circumspect after the defeat. “I consider that she won the match, I didn’t lose it. Of course, I couldn’t be, like, 100% after yesterday. It was a little bit tough. I felt tired a little bit. My legs were a little bit sore.

“She played an amazing tennis. To win two tournaments in a row, it’s a great thing. She deserved to win today. She was better.”