Tennis-Inspired Garcia goes from Cincinnati qualifier to champion

FILE PHOTO: Aug 20, 2022; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Caroline Garcia (FRA) returns a shot during her match against Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) at the Western & Southern Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports

(Reuters) -Caroline Garcia capped a long week by beating Petra Kvitova 6-2 6-4 to claim the Cincinnati Open title on Sunday and become the first qualifier to win a WTA Tour 1000 tournament.

After battling through qualifying, Garcia beat three top-10 world-ranked opponents, Maria Sakkari, Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula, on the way to the final where she delivered a master class against Czech Kvitova, the twice Wimbledon champion.