Russian seventh seed Ekaterina Makarova rallied from behind to defeat Julia Geroges 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-0, in the final of the Citi Open.
Contesting in her first WTA final since the 2014 Pattaya Open, the 29-year-old was pushed to her limits through her encounter with Georges. After dropping the opening set, Makarova then failed to maintain a 5-2 lead in the second as Petkovic battled back to level 5-5. Despite the setback, she managed to clinch the tiebreaker with ease before charging through the decider, winning 26 out of 36 points in the final set.
“I don’t know, actually, how I won this tournament,” Said Makarova. “I was starting every time so slow and not as aggressive as my game. . . . At this tournament, I was very good in my head. I didn’t give up.”
The 130-minute encounter saw the Russian produce three aces and 22 winners. She also benefitted from Georges’ unforced error count of 44. On route to the title, Makarova had to come from a set down in three consecutive matches.
“Every time when I was coming back, I was really enjoying, and dreaming to win this tournament, and here it is. I’m so happy about that,” Makarova said during her trophy ceremony. “I don’t have a coach this week with me, but I have some great supporters. The crowd was just amazing and I heard a lot of Russians today…all tournament, I just really enjoyed this week. It was amazing.”
Makarova’s triumph has occurred during a season why she has achieved success on the doubles circuit. Teamed up with Elena Vesnina, she won her third doubles grand slam title at Wimbledon. The pair has also reached three other WTA finals in 2017, winning the Dubai Tennis Championships.
A former top-10 player, Makarova will rise to 42nd in the world following her Washington win. Fresh with confidence, she is now bidding to re-enter the world’s top-20 for the first time since September 2015.
“I lost a lot of my points and my ranking is not very good, but I’m still working hard and I was believing that I could also play very good in singles again, not just in doubles,” Makarova told wtatennis.com. “I’m so happy that I could turn around something inside me [to win the title].”
Runner-up Georges, who lost her third consecutive final this season, exits the tournament with a positive mindset. The German 28-year-old is bidding to end her five-year title drought.
“I’ve had a great time here. I have only been here once before, which was three years ago, and I wasn’t very successful.” She said. “This time I can say I had a great time and I just love Washington.”
Both players will next travel to Canada to play in the Rogers Cup.
