Parks stuns world no. 5 Garcia to win her first WTA singles title

Alycia Parks is a new name among WTA champions after she defeated world no. 5 Caroline Garcia in the 2023 Lyon Open final.

The 22-year-old American had a very productive week in Lyon, France. She reached her first WTA singles final, and she did so in style, as she produced a contender for the shot of the year during one of her matches.

In the final, Parks took on the first-seeded Garcia, who was a home crowd favourite, and the support for the French player was evident during the final match. But the American proved to be a better player in the final, adding 280 points for the champion next to her name, and 29,760€ in prize money.

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Both players showed very good level on their serve in the first set. There was only one break point, which Garcia saved in the third game, so the first set reached a tie-break, as Parks hit 8 aces and won 91% of points after her first serve.

She continued to serve in the same style also during the tie-break, and despite not being able to convert her first set point, after missing an easy shot, she stayed calm and used her second chance to win the tie-break 9-7 and take the first set after 58 minutes.

The second set didn't start well for the young American. During the first rally, she fell to the ground in an attempt to hit a ball and required a medical timeout to take care of the minor wounds.

Parks was soon able to continue, but had other problems already in the fifth game, as she faced the first break point of the second set. She comfortably saved that and had a chance to break only three games later.

This time, Garcia showed her experience, as both players continued to hold their serves and the second tie-break seemed to be inevitable. The French player had three more chances to break in the eleventh game, but those break points were saved by three more massive serves from Parks.

After saving three break points, Parks had her first championship point and her opponent hit a double fault, allowing the American to win the match 7-6(7), 7-5 and claim her first WTA singles title.

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