Timea Babos of Hungary. Photo by Monika Graff/UPI |
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Top seed Timea Babos won her second WTA title in style, beating No. 2 seed Lucie Safarova 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-3 to win the inaugural Hungarian Ladies Open championship in front of an enthusiastic home crowd at Budapest.
"I'm really, really happy," the 23-year-old Hungarian said after the match. "It's an unbelievable feeling and an incredible moment for my career that I could play against Lucie. She's an amazing player and it was a big fight and it's unbelievable that I could come out with a win in front of my home crowd."
Both women were playing their first finals of the season.
Safarova, a French Open finalist in 2015 from the Czech Republic, overcame a slow start and an early break in the first set.
"It was very tiring. I had to move a lot, but still be aggressive," Babos said. "She's a tough player -- one of the best -- so it was difficult, especially after losing the first set after leading. I tried to stay calm and maintain my tactics. It was working really well, and at 2-2 in the third, I felt like something changed. From that moment, I was flying on the court, being really aggressive. I'm especially happy with how I played in the third."
Babos was a regular competitor at Budapest's last WTA event -- a clay court tournament last held in 2013 -- and throughout the week dropped just one set en route to the final.
"I was starting to not feel like myself on court anymore," Babos said. "This week, I found myself and my game. Each match, I started to play better, get in more rhythm and have a better attitude. I hope I'll ride this wave into Indian Wells, but for now, it's time to enjoy this win before I keep going."
Babos, No. 33 in the WTA rankings, clinched her first title since 2012 in Monterrey.
"She got an early break right away in the second set," the 30-year-old Safarova, ranked No. 47, said after the match. "That pumped her up, but it was just about a few points the whole time. It was a very close match.
"She was playing aggressively today, and defending really well. She put a lot of balls back."
Former world No.1 and ethnic Hungarian Monica Seles presented the trophy after arriving at the start of the weekend to take in the semifinals.
"That's another honor and incredible to hear that," Babos said. "It was the first time I got to talk to her and hear her speaking Hungarian. That was amazing, and all these combinations happened today."
