Lin Zhu claimed her maiden WTA title at the Thailand Open on Sunday with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Lesia Tsurenko in the final. The Chinese needed an hour and 45 minutes to wrap up the win.
The match had several momentum shifts but Zhu held her nerves better than Tsurenko to come through in the end. She won 52% of her first-serve points to the Ukrainian’s 38%. Both struggled to do well on their second serves with Tsurenko winning 40% of her second-serve points to Zhu’s 34%.
Thailand Open: Lin Zhu survives Lesia Tsurenko test
In terms of break points, both players combined for a total of 23 break points of which Tsurenko faced nine and Zhu faced 14. Tsurenko was able to save only one of these break points while Zhu saved eight. In the second set, Zhu was broken while serving for the match in the ninth game. But she clinched the title after breaking Tsurenko in the following game as the latter tried to extend the match.
Speaking post the win, Zhu said, “I’m super happy to win my first title here in Hua Hin. Lesia, she’s a fighter, she never gives up, so I needed to give 100% and I needed to be more patient, especially towards the end. I (felt) a little bit nervous, but I know it’s normal, so I had to handle that, I had to attack when I’d have a chance, because she’s not going to give this match to me. I’m super happy I did it.”
After the Australian Open, Zhu came closer to breaking into the top-50 of the WTA singles rankings as the world no. 54. Now, after the Thailand Open win, Lin Zhu’s on the verge of entering the top-40 of the WTA rankings with a new career-high as the world no. 41.
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