ANI
06 Feb 2023, 01:18 GMT+10
Hua Hin [Thailand], February 5 (ANI): Zhu Lin's fantastic start to 2023 continued at the Thailand Open, where the 29-year-old claimed her maiden WTA Tour title with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Lesia Tsurenko in the final on Sunday.
Zhu Lin edged out Lesia Tsurenko in two tight sets to capture her first WTA Tour title at the Thailand Open in a match that lasted for one hour and 45 minutes final.
Zhu gave notice of her improved form by winning matches against Maria Sakkari and Venus Williams en route to the Auckland quarterfinals and the fourth round of the Australian Open last month. The former World No. 1 projected Zhu might one day be a player in the Top 20 after she forced Victoria Azarenka to a third set in the Melbourne semifinals.
Zhu had previously won one WTA 125 title, at Seoul 2021, but prior to this week had only made two semifinals at the main tour level, at Kuala Lumpur 2016 and Nanchang 2018.
The two players combined for 14 serves breaks during the match, with eight for Zhu and six for Tsurenko. The final was tensely close for a large portion of the match. The Ukrainian, who was playing in her sixth WTA final compared to Zhu's debut, found her range more quickly. In the first game, Tsurenko broke and held two points for a double break of 3-0.
But Zhu managed to claw her way back into the match after claiming two close multi-deuce games, and she eventually grabbed control at the end of the first set and the beginning of the second with more daring and inventive shotmaking. Zhu outperformed Tsurenko by a margin of 22 wins to 9, including a fizzing forehand down the line to end the opening set and a backhand crosscourt to break for 3-1 in the second.
As the final came to an end with a run of seven straight breaks, the final moments became a more tense affair. The rallies grew longer as both players opted for a cautious strategy. Although Zhu was unable to maintain her break advantage, she always bounced back with strong performance on the return. She was serving for the championship at 5-3 when she narrowly missed a forehand on the opening championship point.
In the subsequent game, Zhu won all three of her points cleanly, including a backhand drive volley on her third championship point, to defeat Tsurenko and win the match. (ANI)
Get a daily dose of Cambodian Times news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Cambodian Times.
More InformationTEGUCIGALPA, Honduras: In what could signal the end of his country's decades-long relations with Taiwan, Honduran foreign minister Eduardo Enrique ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: A new US Congressional committee focusing on China held its second hearing on the alleged abuses of the ...
SAN FRANCISCO, California: A new round of extreme winter weather that hit California, also drifted into neighboring Southwest states, with ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: After several high-profile near collision incidents, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a safety alerts to ...
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: Two Cambodian opposition figures--- Yim Sinorn and Hun Kosal--- have been charged under the country's rarely used ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The US Supreme Court has ruled that a deaf student in Michigan can sue his public school district, ...
Colombo [Sri Lanka], March 27 (ANI): Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced on Monday that the fourth edition of the Lanka ...
Johannesburg [South Africa], March 27 (ANI): South Africa has named a full-strength 15-member squad to face the Netherlands in their ...
The Buffalo Bills are signing free agent safety Taylor Rapp to a one-year deal, ESPN reported Monday. Rapp, 25, had ...
Two days after first baseman Luke Voit opted out of his minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers, the club ...
The Boston Red Sox optioned infielder Bobby Dalbec and catcher Jorge Alfaro to Triple-A Worcester on Monday. Yu Chang beat ...
Interim Texas basketball coach Rodney Terry will be offered the permanent position, Horns 247 reported. An official by the school ...