By Chris Oddo | Sunday June 19, 2016
Caroline Garcia won her first grass titlein Mallorca and will head to Wimbledon as a seeded player.
Photo Source: Mallorca Open
Caroline Garcia nabbed her first grass-court title by taking down Anastasija Sevastova in the Mallorca Open final, 6-3, 6-4, for her second title in as many months.
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The 22-year-old endured a nervy start that saw four breaks in total in the first six games and reeled off the final three games of the opener to take the lead.
Sevastova, ranked 82 and playing in her first final since 2010, had upset 8th-seeded Eugenie Bouchard and 2nd-seeded Jelena Jankovic to reach the final, but she could not create another shocker against Garcia, who broke on her fourth break point of the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead in set two and did not face another break point the rest of the way.
Garcia only served 52 percent in the match, but she improved dramatically in the second set and dropped only four points in her five service games in set two.
After Sevastova held for 4-5 to stay in touch, Garcia served the match out confidently, clinching on her first championship point when a booming second serve kicked over the racquet of the Latvian for her fourth ace of the match.
"For now, this is my best season; when you win your first title, you never know if you'll win another,” Garcia said. “It was a dream to win my first, and now I have three, plus the French Open in doubles. The work I'm doing with my team is definitely paying off."
With her title Garcia will move back inside the Top 32 and be assured of a seed at Wimbledon. She improves to 23-13 on the season.
Sevastova was outside the Top 200 this time last year, but the 26-year-old has climbed inside the Top 100 by earning 10 wins at the tour-level this season.