Ashleigh Barty has claimed the biggest WTA title victory of her blossoming career by becoming the first Australian to win the Miami Open.
The Queenslander cemented her rise into the top 10 rankings for the first time – the first Australian to do so since Samantha Stosur 2013 – with a 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 win over fifth-seeded Karolina Pliskova on Saturday.
The Australian No.1 was 3-1 down against 27-year-old Pliskova but responded with excellent shot-making to force a tiebreak and outclass the Czech world No.7 by winning six straight points for the first-set.
Barty broke the big-serving Pliskova in a 12-minute game to open the second set and from there on the fatigued Czech, whose semi-final win over Simona Halep finished after 1am local time earlier in the day due to rain delays, put up little resistance.
Barty pumped her fists when Pliskova sent a forehand long on match point to hand the 22-year-old her fourth WTA title and a $1.3 million ($A1.8m) winner’s cheque.
A message from your 2019 #MiamiOpen champion @ashbar96! pic.twitter.com/cl6xuWoFQo
— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) March 30, 2019