Liu retains CTA Tour title in Chengdu

CHENGDU, China - Liu Fangzhou is the champion of the CTA Tour for the second straight year. In Sunday's final, the 24-year-old defeated No.3 seed Zhu Lin, 6-1 6-4 to conclude the series of competitions between China's leading players.

Set up by Chinese Tennis Association (CTA) and China Central Television (CCTV), the CTA Tour aims to explore and establish a new model for the development of the sport in China. This series of domestic events also provided Chinese players with the opportunity to get back on court to compete during a challenging season.

The finals tournament was played at Sichuan International Tennis Center in a 16-player knockout format, with a strong field featuring top 100 WTA players Zheng Saisai, Zhu Lin and Wang Yafan. The event was also attended by Li Na, Asia's first Grand Slam singles champion, who is the tournament's ambassador. 

Liu opened her campaign with an upset over No.4 seed Wang Yafan 6-4, 6-4 followed by straight-set wins over Xun Fangying 6-4, 7-6 and Han Xinyun, 6-1, 6-0.

Meanwhile, Zhu battled past 2018 US Open Junior Champion Wang Xiyu in the first round, 6-4, 2-6, 10-1 to avenge her loss at Acapulco earlier this year. Then the Chinese No.4 survived a tough challenge from Zheng Wushuang, 7-6, 6-7, 10-4 before dispatching another promising youngster Wang Xinyu 6-4, 6-1.

"To be honest, I didn't expect a 4-0 start," Liu told reporters after the final. "She wasn't at her best in the first set, and the second was really close. I kept telling myself to relax and play my game, try to fight for every point. I'm really happy with the result." 

Zheng Wushuang and Feng Shuo rallied for a 1-6, 6-4, 10-6 victory over two-time Jiangxi Open champion Jiang Xinyu and Tang Qianhui to win the doubles title.

Read more: Chengdu hosts finals tournament for CTA Tour