Parks reaches first WTA singles final in Lyon after another dominant display

| by Sebastian Dahlman

On Sunday, Alycia Parks will play her first WTA final, as she will take on the first-seeded Caroline Garcia.

The 22-year-old American had a sensational end of the 2022 season, winning one ITF event after another. In 2023, she has decided to fully commit to tennis, and started regularly playing WTA event, only after five weeks, she's already knocking on the doors of the Top 50.

The young American defeated Julia Grabher and Petra Martic in the first two rounds, before knocking out Danka Kovinic in two sets in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, she took on Maryna Zanevska from Belgium.

2023 Lyon Open WTA Prize Money & Points Overview - 238,455€
2023 Lyon Open WTA Prize Money & Points Overview - 238,455€

Parks flew into the match with an early break of serve and after adding another, she was up 5-1 and 40-0 on her serve with three set points. But her opponent started a comeback, and the American had to face two break points also in the ninth game and nearly avoided making things more complicated for herself.

Eventually, she used her seventh set point, and won the first set 6-3. In the second set, she couldn't finish it off again, and it nearly costed her a set this time. Parks had two match points on her serve, but then she lost 11 of the next 13 points and faced to set points.

She stayed calm and forced a tie-break, which she won 7-4 to book her first WTA singles final. She will face a difficult obstacle on her way to the first WTA title as the first-seeded Caroline Garcia will be her final opponent.

WATCH: Parks produces Shot of the Year contender with superb tweener lob winner
WATCH: Parks produces Shot of the Year contender with superb tweener lob winner

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