This archive report was first published on 11 January 2020.
Published on January 11, 2020, Russian tennis player Ekaterina Alexandrova made history by winning her first WTA singles title at the Shenzhen Open in China.
Seeded fifth, Alexandrova dominated the competition, defeating seventh-seeded Elena Rybakina from Kazakhstan in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, in just 73 minutes.
The 25-year-old Alexandrova, ranked a career-high 34th in the world, described the first set as unexpectedly easy, which made the second set more challenging.
"I didn't expect the first set to be so easy so I knew the second set would be so much tougher," Alexandrova said.
She added that Rybakina played well in the second set but got nervous after Alexandrova took the lead.
"It feels amazing to win my first title, I don't know what to say," Alexandrova exclaimed, describing the first title as always special.
