Tennis-Chwalinska outwits Kartal to win Wuhan Open

French Open ​finalist Maja Chwalinska won her ​first title on the WTA ‌tour ​as she shook off early nerves to beat Sonay Kartal 2-6 6-4 6-2 at the Wuhan Open final ‌on Sunday.

Left-hander Chwalinska deployed a defensive right-handed lob to disrupt Kartal's flow and outwitted the Briton with clever changes of direction and winners into the corners. Briton Kartal, 170th ‌in the WTA rankings and the lowest-ranked finalist in a WTA 1000 ‌tournament, dominated the first set with powerful forehands as her Polish opponent's drop shots and slices kept landing wide.

But Chwalinska, fresh off a win over childhood friend Iga Swiatek, fought back in ⁠the ​second set, dragging ⁠Kartal into long rallies and earning three breaks to force a decider. Under pressure, Kartal struggled with ⁠netted returns in the third set, making 11 unforced errors as an emboldened Chwalinska won ​four games in a row to clinch victory.

"That was one heck of ⁠a battle," said Kartal, who returned from a six-month injury layoff last month and is expected ⁠to ​break into the top-50 in the rankings. Chwalinska, who became the first qualifier to reach the French Open final in June, credited her coaches for their ⁠help during the best year in the 25-year-old's career, where she started as 146th ⁠in the world ⁠and is now likely to rise to a career-high 11th.

"I am very grateful for every person in my life, basically," ‌she said.