Alycia Parks won her first WTA singles title, defeating No. 1 seed Caroline Garcia 7-6 (7), 7-5 at the Open 6eme Sens Metropole on Sunday in Lyon, France.It was the first victory over a top 5 player for Parks, a 22-year-old native of Georgia, who put on a display of power with 15 aces.
She won points on 85 per cent of her first serves and saved all four break points she faced.Garcia is the World's No. 5 player and was playing in her home country, looking for her 12th career title.
She converted 80 per cent of her first serves into points and staved off two break points until championship point, when she double faulted on the final break point of the match.Thailand OpenLin Zhu of China was another first-time WTA tour winner, defeating Lesia Tsurenko 6-4, 6-4 in Hua Hin.Zhu, 29, needed one hour, 45 minutes to defeat the Ukrainian.
The match continued her strong start to the 2023 season; she reached the quarterfinals in Auckland and the fourth round of the Australian Open fourth round.