Stearns beats Sherif in Rabat to capture first WTA singles title

Peyton Stearns had to survive a couple marathon matches to make this week's Grand Prix Son Altesse Royale La Princesse Lalla Meryem final, but it was a very different story on Saturday, where she eased to her first WTA singles title.

The 22-year-old American Stearns, ranked World No.81, defeated 66th-ranked Mayar Sherif of Egypt 6-2, 6-1 in 1 hour and 12 minutes to capture her maiden trophy on tour.

Comeback complete: Stearns battled through two narrow victories in the past two days to squeak into Saturday's championship match -- her second tour-level final after a runner-up showing at 2023 Bogota.

In the quarterfinals, 2022 NCAA champion Stearns trailed defending champion Lucia Bronzetti 5-0 in the third set, but the American reeled off the next seven games to make a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 escape, saving two match points in the process.

Then in the semifinals, Stearns had to grind through a 3-hour and 15-minute clash with Viktoriya Tomova, eventually prevailing 6-7(6), 7-5, 7-6(4). That was one of the 15 longest matches of the year on the Hologic WTA Tour.

Final sweep: By contrast, Sherif had rolled into Saturday's showpiece match. Sherif, a Hologic WTA Tour titlist at 2022 Parma, had not lost more than six games in any of her four wins en route to her third career final.

But it was a reversal of fortunes on Saturday, with Stearns successfully shaking off any potential fatigue from the week. The American took control from the start, winning the opening set without facing a break point.

Sherif garnered four break points in the second set, but Stearns stayed resolute and was never broken. Serving for the match, Stearns stared down two break points at 15-40, but she came back from that deficit and closed out the win at the first time of asking.

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Doubles romp: The doubles final was contested on Saturday, where No.4 seeds Irina Khromacheva and Yana Sizikova eased past No.2 seeds Anna Danilina and Xu Yifan 6-3, 6-2 in 1 hour and 19 minutes. Khromacheva and Sizikova won 11 of 12 second-service return points, leading to six breaks.

Sizikova has taken the title in Rabat for the second straight year, having triumphed last year alongside Sabrina Santamaria. This is Sizikova's fifth career WTA doubles title overall.

Khromacheva, who has won her fourth career WTA doubles title, is on an 11-match winning streak at all levels. In her two previous events, she won titles at WTA 250 Rouen (with Timea Babos) and WTA 125 Parma (with one of the players she defeated on Saturday, Danilina).