Claire Liu beat Alexandra Eala 6-3, 6-0 in the Hong Kong Open final on 8 November, the WTA reported. The American completed the week without dropping a set and secured her first WTA singles title.
Liu takes nine games in succession
The opening set was level at 3-3 after both players broke serve, according to the WTA's 8 November account. Liu then won nine games in a row to close out the final. The scoreline came from a sustained run rather than a commanding start: Eala had matched Liu through the first six games.
The contest lasted 1 hour and 33 minutes, the WTA reported on 8 November. Liu said the second set's score concealed close exchanges. Liu, the American player, said that “every game was back and forth,” adding that Eala had chances in almost every game.
Liu reached the championship match with straight-set wins over Tatiana Prozorova, Katie Boulter, Zeynep Sonmez and Alexandra Shubladze. Beating Eala the same way completed a title run in which she did not concede a set. The WTA's account gives the sequence of opponents as well as the final result.
A title alongside a rankings recovery
The WTA's 8 November report listed Liu at No. 102 before the final, after starting the year at No. 221, and projected her return to the world's top 70. That is a forecast in the match report, rather than a ranking already published after the tournament.
SportsRivo checked the WTA's result against its separate rankings paragraph: the straight-sets final win completed the unbeaten-set run behind that projection. The WTA also records a previous Liu victory over Eala in Guangzhou last year. Hong Kong was therefore another Liu win in their head-to-head series, as well as her first tour singles title.
What the final changes
- Liu leaves Hong Kong with her first WTA singles trophy, the governing tour confirms.
- Eala finishes runner-up after reaching another tour final; the WTA says this was her third career singles championship match.
- Liu ends the tournament without losing a set, with the WTA listing straight-set victories throughout the week.
Source: WTA match report