World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty of Australia rallied to beat No. 5 seed Aryna Sabalenka won round one 6-3 in the final of the WTA 500 event in Stuttgart on Sunday afternoon. Then became the first champion in 20 years to also win the doubles event.
Barty, who turned 25 Saturday, earned her third WTA singles title this year by beating Aryna Sabalenka, in the final of the clay-court tournament Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany. Before that, she won in Miami and a pre-Australian Open event in Melbourne on hard courts.
She's done it AGAIN 🏆
World No.1 🇦🇺 @ashbarty comes from a set down for the third match in a row to clinch her third WTA title of 2021!#PorscheTennis pic.twitter.com/UT1KJzwTVL
— wta (@WTA) April 25, 2021
“Get healthy, get well – you’ll be back in no time,” Barty told Sabalenka.
“I feel I have taken my tennis to a new level this week,” said Barty.
“I wasn’t far off in the first set, there was a tactical shift when I stepped into the court more in the second set.
“I was proud to be able to put balls in difficult places which made her take more risks.”
22-year-old Belarusian Sabalenka said-
“I gave it me all even with the injury, but she played really well,” said Sabalenka, who first felt the injury at the end of the opening set.
“I had to call the physio in the second set. But I’m glad I got through the match anyway. Now I’ll try to relax. It’s good to be able to play in Madrid. I’ll try to do my best to play there. ”
“I gave her the opportunity and she took it, she’s playing really well on clay, it suits her game.
“I hoped the medical time-out would help me. I am just happy that I was able to play on.”
