Unseeded Astra Sharma of Australia notched a comeback victory in the Tiriac Foundation Trophy final on Sunday, defeating No.4 seed Sara Errani of Italy 0-6, 7-5, 6-2 to win the WTA 125 title in Bucharest, Romania.
Sharma took 2 hours and 24 minutes to turn around the championship match against former Top 5 player Errani, who was the Roland Garros runner-up in 2012.
The victory gives Vanderbilt University alumna Sharma her first WTA 125 title, in her first final at this tournament level. Sharma, who peaked at a career-high ranking of World No.84 in 2021, will see her current ranking skyrocket from No.216 to No.148 on Monday.
Sharma beat four of the Top 5 seeds in her last four matches this week. She was pushed to three sets on each of those occasions before prevailing each time.
Way to go @astrasharma, we're proud of you❗️🏆🏆 #AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/50FUX5zxho
— Vanderbilt Women's Tennis (@VandyWTennis) September 17, 2023
The 28-year-old's latest championship trophy will be added to the Hologic WTA Tour title she won in 2021, when she triumphed over Ons Jabeur at the WTA 250 event in Charleston.
On Sunday, the opening set went heavily in Errani's favor, as the Italian won 85 percent of her first-serve points, while Sharma only won 35 percent of hers.
However, Sharma did not face a match point in the tight second set, and the Australian earned a critical break for 6-5 on her way to leveling the affair.
Sharma was unblemished on serve in the third set, where she never faced a break point. Sharma won half of Errani's first-service points in the deciding set to earn two breaks of serve and take home the title.
The Bucharest doubles final was contested on Saturday, where the all-Italian duo of Angelica Moratelli and Camilla Rosatello defeated Greece's Valentini Grammatikopoulou and Anna Siskova of the Czech Republic 7-5, 6-4.
Moratelli and Rosatello did not drop a set in their three wins this week, en route to their first WTA 125 doubles title. The pair also reached a Hologic WTA Tour doubles final earlier this year, finishing runner-up on home soil at WTA 250 Palermo.