By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday July 23, 2023
Russia's Maria Timofeeva, ranked 246, claimed her maiden WTA title on Sunday in Hungary.
Photo Source: TTV
Russia’s Maria Timofeeva defeated Ukrainian Kateryna Baindl, 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 on Sunday in Budapest to become the first WTA player to capture a title on her main draw debut since 2001.
Timofeeva, ranked 246, and nudged out of the qualifiers last weekend by Anna Siskova in third-set tiebreak, took her place in the main draw and made the most of it.
"This is all very new to me, and it feels like a dream, because normally I shouldn't be here, but here I am," she said on court after the final.
Baindl, bidding for her first title and playing her first WTA final since 2018, could not match the Russian in a final set that quickly ran away from her.
Timofeeva won three deciding sets and earned her first two career Top 100 wins as she powered through five rounds on the red clay of Budapest.
She is slated to rise to a career-high ranking of 129 in next week’s rankings. 29-year-old Baindl is projected to rise to No.77, up 23 spots from 100.