WTA Finals 2022
Caroline Garcia was ranked outside the top 70 in June, but a remarkable run her reach the season-ending WTA Finals tournament helped in Fort Worth, Texas. Now she is the WTA Finals champion, beating No. 7 seed Aryna Sabalenka 7-6(4) 6-4 in the final on Monday night, and reveling in what the French 29-year-old calls the “biggest title” of her career so far.
“Definitely a lot of giant happiness” is how the 29-year-old described her emotions after overcoming Sabalenka in straight sets – taking the first set in a tie break, then breaking her opponent in the opening game of the second set.
The victory sees Garcia become the second French player to win the WTA Tour’s season-ending tournament after Amelie Mauresmo in 2005.
It’s the biggest title any French player has won in nine years, woman or man. The last time a French player won a Grand Slam or a season-ending championships (WTA Finals or ATP Finals) was at Wimbledon in 2013, where Marion Bartoli lifted the women’s title.
“It was a great match, I really went for it. I’m really happy to win my biggest title.”
Paris Masters 2022
Holger Rune extended a remarkable breakout 2022 season with a 3-6 6-3 7-5 victory over Novak Djokovic in Paris which handed him his maiden Paris Masters title. 19-year-old Rune had already been identified as one the sport’s rising stars, and his victory over Djokovic will do nothing to slow that burgeoning reputation. It was a dogged, never-say-die performance, culminating in an epic final game.
Rune, who beat four other top-10 players in Hubert Hurkacz, Andrey Rublev, Carlos Alcaraz and Felix Auger-Aliassime en route to the final, will become the first Danish player ranked in the top 10 in almost half-a-century.
19-year-old Rune outlasted the wily Djokovic in a match that lasted 153 minutes in Paris to seal his third title in what has been a breakout year.
Rune was initially visibly tentative compared to the way he had been playing all week, perhaps due to the inevitable nerves that come from playing in a maiden Masters 1000 final.
“I’m not happy that you beat me, but on the other hand I’m happy for you because I like your personality, you’re a very dedicated guy who loves tennis,” Djokovic said with a smile at the trophy presentation.
The 2022 Nitto ATP Finals will be held from 13-20 November. The indoor hard-court event, established in 1970, will take place at the Pala Alpitour in Turin.
The event in Turin will see eight players divided into two groups of four, with the top two from each group advancing to the semi-finals. Rafael Nadal, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud, Daniil Medvedev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Andrey Rublev, Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz will compete.