Down but never out: Former Top 10 player Caroline Garcia rallied to win her eighth title of her individual Hologic WTA Tour in an impressive way at the Bad Homburg Open presented by Engel & Voelkers.
Garcia came out of a set and a break against resurgent 2019 U.S. Open winner Bianca Andreescu to win her first WTA individual title in three years, though she and compatriot Kristina Mladenovic they teamed up to win their second Roland Garros doubles title earlier this month. Andreescu led 7-6 (5), 4-2 before Garcia won four straight games to tie the game, and also won 2-0 in the final set.
In the final game of the match, Garcia maintained the 0-30 serve to close out the win by 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4. He hit a straight 30-30 winning win to win the championship point, and fell to the ground in celebration when Andreescu’s final ball floated long to finish the championship in 2 hours and 42 minutes.
Garcia now has three individual titles on the grass court, having won in Mallorca in 2016 and Nottingham in 2019. He previously saved a game point to beat compatriot Alizé Cornet in the semi-finals, and also came out of a seven reduced in his victory in the first round against Aliaksandra Sasnovich. After reaching Bad Homburg in the 75th position, Garcia will return to the Top 60 with his victory.
Andreescu was betting on winning his first title since his famous win in New York three years ago. He had not lost a set on the way to the final, eliminating No. 7 seed and Roland Garros semifinalist Martina Trevisan in round 1, and eliminating seed Daria Kasatkina in the quarterfinals. He also received a pass from No. 4 seed Simona Halep in the semifinals as the former world No. 1 retired with a neck injury.
Bad Homburg: Garcia beats Andreescu by the eighth title of his career
2022 Bad Homburg
Both women are now turning their attention to Wimbledon; Garcia will play his first-round match against British wildcard Yuriko Miyazaki on Monday, while Andreescu will debut against American qualifier Emina Bektas on Tuesday.
Hozumi and Ninomiya get the doubles title
While two players without a top seed faced off for the individual title, the top two finishers played for the doubles crown. No. 1 seed Eri Hozumi and Makoto Ninomiya won their third title of the season by beating No. 2 seed Alicija Rosolska and Erin Routliffe in a tiebreaker, 6-4, 6-7 (5). [10-5].
The top seeders led to a game tiebreaker in each of their four wins over the course of the week, and this year’s three title-winning finals were won in a decisive set. They saved a game point both in the first round and in the semifinal victories.