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By Chris Oddo | Sunday August 2, 2015

 
Margarita Gasparyan and Patricia-Maria Tig

Russia's Margarita Gasparyan became the WTA's 8th maiden title winner in Baku with a three-set win over Patricia Maria Tig in the final.

Photo Source: Baku Cup

Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan entered this week with an 0-5 Tour-level record and finished it as the WTA’s 8th first-time titlist of 2015 with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-0 victory over fellow first-time WTA finalist Patricia Maria Tig.

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Gasparyan has been toiling away on the ITF circuit, compiling a 49-12 record in the last 52 weeks, but she made the most of her opportunity on the senior tour this week, starting with an upset of World No. 56 and former Grand Slam finalist Dominika Cibulkova (seeded third) and reaching the final by taking out second-seeded Italian Karin Knapp (seeded second) in three sets in the semis.

Gasparyan, a 20-year-old Muscovite who qualified for Wimbledon this year before losing to and drawing praise from Serena Williams for her game, served for the match in the second set but a determined Tig broke her back and took the final two games to force a decider.

But from there it was all Gasparyan until the finish.


Tig, also 20, had a week that was nearly as remarkable as Gasparyan’s. The Romanian entered the week with only one Tour-level win but pulled upsets over Donna Vekic and top-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova en route to the final.

Tig owns 12 ITF titles, seven of which came in 2014, a season that saw the Romanian rise over 300 spots in the rankings to just outside the Top 200 (she entered the week at 154).

Gasparyan also broke ground in two other categories on Sunday in Baku. She became the first WTA player to win a title with a one-handed backhand this season, and she claimed the doubles title alongside her partner Alexandra Panova.

Gasparyan and Panova defeated Vitalia Diatchenko and Olga Savchuk, 6-3, 7-5.

 

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