DOHA (Reuters) – Amanda Anisimova claimed her first WTA 1000 title when she beat Jelena Ostapenko 6-4 6-3 in the final of the Qatar Open on Saturday which will see the American break into the top 20 for the first time in her career.
Ranked 41 in the world, Anisimova also became the lowest-ranked player to win the tournament as she beat six top-40 opponents en route to her third singles title.
The American was ranked as low as 359 in 2023 when she took a break from the game due to burnout as it took a toll on her mental health but the 23-year-old has been on the rise since her comeback and is set to move up to 18th in the rankings.
Anisimova is only the second American to win the title, following in the footsteps of Monica Seles in 2002, while Ostapenko has now finished runner-up in Doha for a second time having also lost in the 2016 final.
“There’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of tears and a lot of good moments,” Anisimova said.
“With tennis you kind of experience it all but that’s also why I love it. There have been a lot of challenges the last few weeks. I’m very proud of myself and happy with how I’ve dealt with them.”
After a spot of rain briefly paused play in the opening set, Anisimova broke first to lead 3-2 but that only fired up Ostapenko as she won nine straight points to go 4-3 up.
But Anisimova regained her advantage, using her backhand to good effect and broke Ostapenko again before she served out the set as the Latvian dropped a set for the first time in the tournament.
Ostapenko had the opportunity to go 2-0 up in the second but failed to convert break points and as she took out her frustrations at her team, Anisimova duly broke early to take a 2-1 lead and leave her opponent fuming during the changeover.
Ostapenko then asked a member of her team to leave her box after which she won the next seven points but she lost her momentum after another rain delay which lasted 25 minutes as Anisimova went 5-3 up.
With Ostapenko serving to stay in the match, Anisimova had two championship points and she sealed the title on her second with yet another devastating backhand, falling to the court and holding her face in disbelief.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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