LINZ, Austria - In her second Upper Austria Ladies Linz final, No.5 seed Camila Giorgi captured her second career title and first on hardcourts, dispatching Russian qualifier Ekaterina Alexandrova, 6-3, 6-1 on Sunday.
"I think it’s very important for the future, of course, this title," Giorgi told the press, after her victory. "I’m very happy."
Giorgi won her first title back in 2015 at the Ricoh Open in 's-Hertogenbosch, and finished runner-up in Linz eight months prior, falling in a final set tie-break to a rising Karolina Pliskova. The Wimbledon quarterfinalist made no mistakes in her first WTA final appearance in over two years, blasting past Alexandrova in under an hour.
"Any match is complicated," Giorgi continued, during her press conference. "I played very good, I was solid. The score looks easy, but it wasn’t easy."
Bellissima! What a stunning trophy shoot with our champion #camilagiorgi! (pics: GEPA) #wtalinz #upperaustrialadieslinz #camilamoments @WTA pic.twitter.com/0MFqQOlvnZ
— WTA Linz (@WTALinz) October 14, 2018
The first set went with serve through the first seven games, with Giorgi grabbing the crucial break as Alexandrova, who was playing her first WTA final, served at 3-4. Giorgi rode that momentum all the way out to a 4-0 lead in the second set, holding a pair of break points for a triple break.
Alexandrova saved both to stay in contention, but the Italian proved unstoppable on Centre Court, winning the final two games with aplomb to secure victory.
Giorgi is tentatively set to rise to a new career-high ranking on Monday, and will likely be seeded at the 2019 Australian Open - a possible relief to the game's biggest names given her reputation as a dangerous floater.
"I played a lot of tough matches, beautiful matches this year," Giorgi concluded with a smile.
As for Alexandrova, an impressive week in Linz returns her to the Top 100 after falling as low as World No.122 after the US Open.