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Clara Tauson capped off a successful week at the Lyon Open by winning the first WTA title of her career. The Dane defeated Viktorija Golubic 6-4, 6-1 in an hour and 29 minutes in the final. Tauson, who celebrated her 18th birthday four months ago in December, was unfazed despite going down an early break to her opponent in the opening set.
She broke Golubic twice more – in the sixth game and in the eighth game – but was broken right back on both occasions by the Swiss qualifier. In the 10th game of the opening set, Golubic did well to save three set points on her serve but wasn’t able to save the fourth, allowing Tauson to take the lead in the match.
Lyon Open: Clara Tauson's winning strides
The second set was way more one-sided as the younger player built a 5-0 lead and had four match points on Golubic’s serve to finish the week with a bagel. However, Golubic’s relentlessness meant that Tauson was left unable to convert any of these four match points.
A fifth match point came up at 5-1 on Tauson’s serve but she was unable to close out the match even then. As the set progressed, Tauson looked to be under pressure as she faced two break points. But she retained her composure to first stave them off and then, on her sixth match point, captured the title.
All throughout this week, Tauson hasn’t lost more than four games per set. She also made the title run without the loss of a set across the seven matches she played in the tournament – beginning with the two qualifying rounds.
Her biggest win in the event this week came in the opening round when she upset the top-seed Ekaterina Alexandrova. Following her Lyon Open title, Clara Tauson has reached a new career high of no. 96 in the WTA ranking. She will officially make her top-100 debut in the ranking on Monday, 8th March.