New Delhi, Jan 19: Tatiana Prozorova saved six match points to edge past second seed Panna Udvardy and claim the ITF W50 singles title at the DLTA Complex on Sunday.
Seventh seed Prozorova saved three match points in the 12th game of the second set and then three more in the tiebreaker to force a decider and finally prevailed 4-6 7-6(6) 6-4 in the three-hour-long final that was littered with breaks and unforced errors from the two players.
"I am really happy that I could win this match and save so much points and also didn't miss. I am really happy to win my first title in this year, in January and I will look forward to playing next tournament here in New Delhi," said Prozorova.
It was Prozorova's first singles title in four months, her last trophy coming in September 2024 when she triumphed at the ITF W100 event in Incheon.
Udvardy was playing her first final since June 2024 when she ended a runner-up in the WTA 125 event on clay in Italy and yet again missed out on the title.
The two players traded early breaks to be at 3-3. From there, Prozorova had the chance to keep it a close affair but unforced errors let her down. She was down 0-40 in game seven but managed to save all three break chances.
She netted a backhand at deuce and then hit a forehand marginally long to drop her serve again.
Udvardy too struggled to keep the ball within the lines and her first serve troubled her. She saved four break points in the game eighth but eventually lost her serve, making it 4-4.
Prozorova, by dropping her serve again, allowed Udvardy to be in a position from where she could have served out the opening set and the Hungarian did not miss the opportunity this time. Udvardy bagged the set when Prozorova hit a forehand long.
Prozorova did not help her cause by not holding her serve at the start of the second set, handing that one-break cushion to her rival. Udvardy, though, could not consolidate the advantage, hitting a forehand error on a breakpoint in game six to allow her rival to make it even-stevens again.
At 5-5, 30-all, Prozorova hit a backhand wide but Udvardy could not convert the chance. However, the Hungarian got the break when her rival again made a backhand error.
Udvardy came to serve out the match, and had three match-points but lost all and was facing a breakpoint when she netted a forehand at the deuce point. Prozorova grabbed the opportunity with a crushing backhand down-the-line winner, stretching the set to a tie-break
Udvardy earned three more match points when she hit a backhand winner at 5-3 but could convert none with Prozorova making some powerful returns.
Prozorova finally closed the set in her favour with a screaming backhand winner on Udvardy's return that landed in the middle of the court.
The seventh seed cashed in on a break and finally closed the match in her favour.
India's Ankita Raina and her British partner Naikhta Bains won the doubles title on Saturday.
