Boisson wins maiden WTA title in Hamburg
A surprise Roland Garros semifinalist last month, Boisson won 7-5, 6-3 to give France a first success on the WTA circuit since Caroline Garcia at the season-ending Tour Finals in November 2022.
'This is the first time I've given a (tournament winner's) speech, so please bear with me,' the 22-year-old said before offering a simple 'Danke' ('Thank you') to the German crowd.
Fifth seed Boisson rallied from 5-2 down in the first set and survived a break in the second. Boisson hit headlines last month when as a wild card in her Grand Slam main-draw debut and ranked 361st in the world she reached the French Open last four before being beaten by eventual winner Coco Gauff. Boisson, now ranked 63rd and set to join the top 50 on Monday, lost her first qualifying match on grass at Wimbledon, but back on her favoured surface clay returned to winning ways. Bondar, ranked 77, had got off to a flying start with a double-break for 4-0. The Hungarian served for the set at 5-2, but was unable to close in that game, and Boisson took full advantage. The Frenchwoman wrapped up her first-set comeback with another break, winning the last five games in a row. At the start of the second set, Bondar, who won the final on this same court last year when the tournament was not yet a WTA 250 event, broke serve.
But Boisson erased the break with a dropshot winner to earn a love break and pull back on serve at 3-3.
She dug deep to break for 5-3, staving off a break point in the last game and grabbed her first WTA title. — AFP
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