Tatiana Golovin captured her first WTA Tour title when she stunned top-seeded and defending champion Nadia Petrova 6-1, 6-2 in the final of the Amelia Island championships Sunday.
Golovin had risen to No. 20 in the WTA Tour rankings, but the 19-year-old was winless in three previous Tour singles finals.
When Petrova sent a forehand wide down the line at double match point, Golovin raised her arms in exhilaration and then covered the tears of joy that streamed down her face.
"No, it still hasn't sunk in. I'm still really excited about it," she said afterwards, her first-place crystal trophy and $95,500 winner's check close by.
"I feel like I've gone on to the next level in winning my first tournament.
She won it on a sound, steady game and having the patience to wait for Petrova to make one of her 29 unforced errors in the 15 games. Even Petrova admitted it was uncharacteristic of her.
"Yes, very much (it is)," said Petrova who was seeking her first repeat championship of an event in her career. "What I can say is that it is just a lack of concentration.
"In some situations I was going for too much in trying to finish it off.
"I didn't have enough energy really to stick in the balls today. I didn't have quite the desire either, especially after I lost the first set."
She also lacked an effective serve.
Normally one of the stronger servers on the Tour, Petrova won just over half (14 of 27) of the points on her first serve and was only able to capture eight of 25 opportunities on her second serve.
Golovin was able to take advantage of that weakness by breaking her three times in both sets.
"On the clay, it's tougher for her because the ball doesn't go as fast and you have more time to react," Golovin said. "But definitely she didn't serve that great today."
The Frenchwoman added: "I felt I was ready to win my first title today. Today I knew I could beat Petrova. I knew I had the weapons to do it."
