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Lauren Davis’s the 2023 Hobart International champion. The American pipped Elisabetta Cocciaretto – who was making her debut in a WTA tournament’s final – on Saturday. Davis won 7-6(0), 6-2 in an hour and 48 minutes.
The opening set of the match itself lasted an hour and 13 minutes as both players fended multiple break points to keep themselves in contention in the set. Cocciaretto had a chance to secure the lead for herself but Davis thwarted the opportunity convincingly.
In the ensuing tie-break, Davis was so dominant that she didn’t let Cocciaretto get even a point. The second set followed along the same lines and there was no point of return for the Italian for the match thereafter.
Hobart International: A time to savour for Lauren Davis
After her win, Davis said, “I have a lot of emotions going through my body right now. I’m just really happy, really excited. I really had to play my best in order to win today”.
She also complimented her opponent for the way she’d played. “She’s an incredible fighter. I knew she wouldn’t give me an edge at all so I knew coming in that I would have to play my best, really just show up for each and every point and do a good job of maintaining my emotions”.
Although both players were not seeded, unlike Cocciaretto, Davis had made her way into the main draw after coming through the qualifiers. In total, Davis had to play seven rounds to get her hands on the title. She didn’t concede any set in any of these matches.
The Hobart International’s the second title of Lauren Davis’ career. Her first career title also came at the start of the new season in 2017 when she won the Auckland Open title. In total, Davis’ reached four WTA finals in her career.
She lost the first two finals she reached at the 2016 Washington Open and Quebec Open. Photo Credit: Hobart International Twitter