Beatriz Haddad Maia secured her first WTA title of the year by overcoming a set and a break deficit to defeat Daria Kasatkina 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the Korea Open final on Sunday.
After reaching the US Open quarter-finals earlier this month, Haddad Maia initially struggled, losing the first set 6-1.
Kasatkina, the top seed, broke Haddad Maia in the opening game of the second set.
However, Haddad Maia bounced back, breaking in the sixth game and eventually winning the set against Kasatkina’s serve.
In the decisive third set, Haddad Maia was unstoppable, winning all her first-serve points (10/10) and saving three break points when Kasatkina applied pressure midway through.
She then broke Kasatkina twice and closed out the match to love, marking her first title since winning the WTA Elite Trophy in China last year.
Haddad Maia had reached the Korea Open final on her debut in 2017 but lost to Jelena Ostapenko, and she had not been back to a WTA final until her victory at the 2022 Nottingham Open.
Her strong serving helped her prevail on Sunday, as she won 72% of her first-serve points compared to Kasatkina’s 63% and converted four of the five break points she created.
