Grace Min outshines top seed Caroline Garcia to win Girls’ Singles title – US Open 2011
Wrapping up on Sunday afternoon was the Girls’ Singles Final of the US Open 2011. The two players that took up the gauntlet on show court 7 of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center were un-seeded Grace Min against number
one seeded Caroline Garcia. Min had one more upset left in her when she stunned Garcia in straight sets of 7-5, 7-6(3) to take home the accolade.
Prior to this week Min had won a mere four matches in five major events played but at the US Open 2011 Min didn’t drop a set following a straight set win over Irina Khromacheva in the first round. It was an impossible feat that
Min conquered as she was ranked almost 400 places below Garcia in the WTA ranking.
While, Garcia had made the semi finals of the first three Grand Slams of the year, but her run to the final was the first time she ever progressed to a Grand Slam final this season.
The two players had never met prior to this event in their professional careers and opening the first set was Min. As the two players won on their respective games in the first two games, in the following six games they broke each
other thrice to eventually level the score at 4-4. They then again held their serves in the following three games but this time Min was a break up and as Garcia served to stay in the match, Min broke her by forcing Garcia’s forehand to land outside the court!
Min wrapped up the first set 7-5 with the help of an ace, a winner, and by minimizing her double faults along with the unforced errors in forty seven minutes. The American took out her lethal backhand in the end to secure a first
set victory.
As the top seeded Garcia was put to shame by the un-seeded Min, French Garcia pulled up her socks to battle it out in the second set. Opening the second set was again Min and the two won on their own serves in the first two games.
However, in the following five games the players broke each other back to back and leading the set was Garcia with a 5-3 score in the eighth game. In the tenth game Min again broke Garcia to balance the score at 5-5. As the two held serve in the last two
games the set was pushed to a tie breaker.
Having picked up steam in the second set, Garcia continued to match the American’s tandem in the tiebreaker. Going head-to-head, both players moved ahead with neither allowing the other any leeway. Keeping the score tied for the
first six points, Min finally jerked into top gear as she profited on a mini-break to take the lead. Reeling off four straight points with two breaks of serves, Min clinched the tiebreaker 7-3 and won her first Grand Slam title.
Min tracked down ball after ball as Garcia couldn't find her range. The French girl was heavily favoured to win the Girls’ Singles US Open 2011 title but she double-faulted 10 times, struggling to control her own power and eventually
lost her chance to take home the crown.
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