UNITED STATES: At the Cincinnati Masters on Sunday, Caroline Garcia and Borna Coric both won historic championships by winning their respective final matches.
Caroline Garcia’s spectacular win
Caroline Garcia defeated two-time grand slam champion Petra Kvitova in the women’s final with a score of 6-2, 6-4, making her the first qualifier ever to claim a WTA 1000 victory.
To go to the final, Garcia had to defeat three players who all ranked in the top 10 in the world: Maria Sakkari, Aryna Sabalenka, and Jessica Pegula. Garcia’s victory in Cincinnati marks her third WTA 1000 championship of her career and tenth overall, and it raises her from 35th to No. 17 in the world rankings.
World Tennis Association (WTA) congratulated Caroline Garcia on her win.
During her post-game interview, Caroline Garcia said, “I’m really grateful for this great week of tennis, and winning another title is very special. Every match, every day was a new day, a new challenge. Every time I had to be focused on myself, on my game, what can I do, how I can be more aggressive, how can I improve.”
“Just one day at a time, I got here today in the final and now I’m lifting the trophy,” she added.
Croatian Coric ranked 152 in the world, defeated fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6 6-2 and became the lowest-ranked player in history to win a Masters 1000 title.
A triumphant return after a challenging year gave Coric his first Masters 1000 trophy (he lost his only other Masters 1000 final to Novak Djokovic in 2018).
Previously ranked as No. 12, Coric fell in the rankings after missing most of 2021 after suffering a shoulder injury. However, Coric will now jump up to No. 29 in the world due to his victory.
The 25-year-old had to defeat Rafael Nadal, Roberto Bautista Agut, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Cameron Norrie en route to the final, so he was undoubtedly forced to earn his title as well.
According to ATP, during his on-court interview with Coric, he said, “Thank you to my parents, who are not here, my sister, and my staff.” He added, “With my physio if I didn’t have him, I wouldn’t be on the court. Then, of course, to my tennis coach, Mate. We have been working very hard, and now we are here.”
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