Patricia Maria Tig dramatically reached victory at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup Sunday night. What was a roller coaster pair of sets ended with a race to the finish against Eugenie Bouchard pulling off a late comeback but fell in the tiebreak completing a 2-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) result on center court at the Garanti Koza Arena. It was the second WTA title for the Romanian who last won a title in 2019.
This was their first meeting and for both, a chance at a second title during this strange year would end their week on a high note. The Canadian has had quite a week as she came through two rounds of qualifications to be in the first final since winning Kuala Lumpur in 2016 against Elina Svitolina. She matched her previous winning streak of six matches back in 2018 in Luxembourg hoping that a different outcome would surface.
Her choice to come back into the sport on clay was a smart idea as she conducted herself well in the last six matches. Tig last appeared in a final back in 2019 at Karlsruhe taking home the international tournament title. With another one close at hand, the 26-year-old Romanian would hope to break the heart of the popular WTA star and leave with another championship for her career.
Bouchard got things underway with a terrific service that led to holding Tig to love. Her return game produced three breakpoints on Tig delivering well-placed shots. The Romanian saved one but the talents of her opponent only made the hole bigger for her to dig out of. Bouchard was up 3-0 having only lost on two points. The situation changed in the fourth as the Romanian dug in for a good hold in the fourth, scoring an important point on deuce to end the shutout.
Bouchard’s service was still tight as she succeeded in the fifth taking a 4-1 lead on Tig. With a little more confidence growing in the 26-year-old, she managed another service hold that put her two games down of Bouchard after six games played. Despite being forced to deuce on serve in the seventh, Bouchard held her end strong and played two breaks to make it 5-2.
Tig served in her attempt to extend the set but returns from Bouchard put her in place with two set points. An unforced error from the Romanian ended the set in 36 minutes giving the 26-year-old a leg up. She outscored Tig 30-16 with 80 percent of points won on the first serve and 75 percent from the second.
The Romanian didn’t let statistics bother her going into the second set as she fought through every point to force deuce. On the second break, Tig produced a chance to break the serve of Bouchard and accomplished a nice footing going forward. A consolidation of the break made it 2-0 for Tig who had the biggest lead of the match for herself. Bouchard didn’t let her enjoy it for long as she recovered the service game and scored a straight-lined winner to get on the board in the set.
Just when it looked like the Canadian would consolidate with a break back of Tig, her opportunity slipped away in the fourth. Tig forced deuce and saved another breakpoint before turning the control back to hold. Bouchard was losing control of more than just opportunities as the Romanian scored a break to love taking a 4-1 position. Bouchard smacked a ball in the air in frustration as she saw her usual run of a match leer again.
The pressure increased as her returns started to fall wide or put too much on the ball to fall long of the baseline. Tig played to force a decider in the seventh but was forced to deuce on two bad returns. She produced another but got focused on her fourth try where a long rally saw her place at center and score the point to end the second in 38 minutes. Errors racked up for the Canadian who let things slip away with only seven points won for the first serve and five from the second. Unable to win a single return game, led her to play her third three-setter of the tournament with the title coming closer into view for both players.
Taking a moment off the court, Bouchard returned to play on Tig’s opening service which ended in a serve to love for the Romanian. With such a perfect start, Bouchard needed similar results but instead handed a game break to Tig in the second. The hole got bigger as well as the nerves of the Canadian who tried containing service in the fourth but the wide returns and long balls made it very challenging. A big hold for Bouchard ended Tig’s winning streak but there was a long way to go.
The Romanian didn’t make it easier as she produced another victory for a 4-1 lead inching closer to the title. Bouchard did everything in the sixth to secure a hold of serve and make winning the championship a reality. Despite needing three breaks, the Canadian made it two service games in a row. Tig had a big hiccup in the seventh when she committed back to back double-faults. It gave Bouchard two break points to clinch a third win on Tig’s error.
As the deciding set went into the late stages, Bouchard served up the shots and watched the Romanian commit further errors since her two double faults. She somehow turned the eighth game around and broke Bouchard to serve for the title. She reached championship point but couldn’t win it as Bouchard found her attacking return to be golden. They went to deuce where two more championship points were saved by the Canadian who then began producing breakpoints. It was the second one that kept the match alive with her serving to force more opportunities.
A second ace was well-timed for Bouchard who went on to add a pair of winners to go the distance with Tig, who was feeling the nerves. She responded with technical attacks that awarded her a serve to love setting the bar high for Bouchard. Just as evening prayers began, Tig’s own were answered as she caught a break with three more championship points. Bouchard responded by saved all of them, totaling six that Tig had only to play to deuce. It was only one break as a long ball from Tig clinched the comeback for Bouchard who got into a final tiebreak.
Tig earned a mini-break and made it 2-1 before the change of service. Bouchard broke back but the Romanian widened the gap 4-2 on a good service run. Bouchard blew her chance to level back but they never came for her. Tig reached her seventh championship point which was lucky enough to bring an end to a dramatic 2 hour and 29-minute fight.
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