Vekic upsets Garcia to lift the trophy in Monterrey

A dramatic Abierto GNP Seguros final saw Donna Vekic defeat Caroline Garcia 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 on Sunday night. Vekic prevailed in Monterrey after two hours and 30 minutes of play.

It was a roller-coaster ride, in which the Croat led by a set and a break but could not close the match in straights. In the third, Garcia found herself serving at 4-5, 0-30 — two points from losing — but impressively battled back and held to stay alive. However, the same situation came quickly at 5-6, 0-30 for the Frenchwoman. This time Vekic brought up triple-championship point and converted it right away.

Vekic avenges previous defeat

Vekic now leads the head-to-head series 6-4, but Garcia won their only previous final on the grass courts of Nottingham in 2019. That was also a thriller — 2-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(4).

“The last final you won,” Vekic told Garcia during the trophy ceremony. “I remember it well; it was very painful loss for me. I’m sure we’re gonna have many more matches like this…. The last couple of years were difficult for me but I kept believing in myself and never giving up.”

“It was a crazy match,” Garcia commented. “A good fight.”

Vekic, ranked No 31, beat Ukrainian qualifier Lesia Tsurenko (2-6, 5-0 ret.), American wildcard Emma Navarro (6-3, 6-2), Belgian Ysaline Bonaventure (6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (5)) and Chinese Lin Zhu, the No 5 seed (7-5, 6-2) earlier in the tournament.

Garcia, ranked No 5, punched her ticket to the final by beating Slovenian Kaja Juvan (6-3, 6-4), Spaniard Nuria Parrizas Diaz (6-3, 6-2), Egyptian Mayar Sherif, the No 7 seed (6-0, 6-4) and Belgian Elise Mertens, the No 4 seed (6-3, 6-4).

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