Ashleigh Barty defeats Aryna Sabalenka to lift trophy in Stuttgart

The cardboard fans in the stands of the 2021 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart saw quite an unusual final between Ashleigh Barty and Aryna Sabalenka.

Both players were in great form in Stuttgart and as their H2H was tied at 3-3, there was no big favorite ahead of the match. While the bookmakers slightly favored Barty to win the 2021 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix ahead of the match, Aryna Sabalenka had a different opinion.

She started with a good hold of the serve after facing a breakpoint and denied another 2 breakpoints in the 5th game to get a 3-2 lead in the opening set. However, in the next game she also failed to convert any of the 3 breakpoints she had. A few games later, she made no more mistakes and broke Barty's serve to get a 5-3 lead and win the first set 6-3 in 39 minutes.

With Sabalenka being a set closer to the title, Barty began the second set with a good hold of the serve. She then continued also with great numbers on return as Sabalenka won only 33% of points after her first service in the second set.

On the other hand, Barty won up to 91% and added 2 aces what resulted in a quick 23 minute 6-0 victory in the second set. Sabalenka then requested a medical time-out and returned after a few minutes.

The Belorussian looked shaky at the beginning of the third set again when she lost 12 out of 13 points and was down quickly 0-3. However, She managed to break back and she was on her serve at 2-3 again. But Barty denied the comeback and won the third set 6-3 to capture her third title of the 2021 season.