BEIJING (AFP) - Caroline Garcia won her first tennis title of the year, defeating Karolina Pliskova to edge a nervy Tianjin Open final on Sunday (Oct 14).
The French player, ranked 16th in the world, battled through a tight first set before streaking away in the second to beat the Czech top seed 7-6 (9-7), 6-3.
The 24-year-old Garcia - seeded second in Tianjin - enjoyed a breakthrough 2017, winning back-to-back titles in Wuhan and Beijing, and qualifying for the season-ending WTA Finals in Singapore, where she lost in the semi-finals.
But she has struggled in comparison this year and her China Open defence in Beijing came to a meek end in the last 16, losing the deciding set 6-0 to Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.
The Tianjin title is the sixth of Garcia's career.