From qualies to career best title: Tatjana Maria upsets Amanda Anisimova to reign over Queen’s Club

Tatjana Maria completed a dream week by defeating Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 6-4 in the final of the Queen's Club Championships, becoming the first champion of the tournament after more than 50 years since its last edition. The German arguably had the best week of her career to claim her first WTA 500 title.

The 37-year-old advanced from qualifying and secured four top-15 triumphs en route to the title. She defeated former Grand Slam champions Elena Rybakina (No. 11) and Madison Keys (No. 8), as well as former major finalists Leylah Fernandez (No. 30) and Karolína Muchová (No. 14).

Maria did not enter any match of the tournament as the favorite, always facing top-30 rivals with proven experience in important tournaments. However, from the beginning, she played at a very high level, securing a break in just her opponent's second service game, which allowed her to pull ahead to 4-1 without major setbacks, thanks to a series of imposing service games.

The American saw her opponent take an early lead, though she managed to recover the break in the 7th game, making it 3-4. Anisimova had a respectable 67% first serve in, but was not effective enough with either her first (58%) or second (50%) serves, largely due to the German's merit, who managed to put most of her opponent's serves back in play and was strong from the baseline.

Maria broke Anisimova's serve back and then closed out the set with her serve 6-3, setting the stage for potentially the most important title of her career.

Maria's long career on Tour surely gave her a cool head to start the second set without complications. An early break and a great service game propelled her to a 2-0 lead. Minutes later, she faced the longest game of the match – where 20 points were played and she saved two break points against her – and managed to maintain her lead.

Maria capitalized on the momentum and got a second break of the set, which gave her a good advantage heading into the final part of the match. Anisimova managed to recover one of the breaks and then hold her serve, but it wasn't enough for a comeback. The last games of the match saw both players hold their service games, and Maria maintained her composure to close out the victory when it was her responsibility. The result was 6-3, 6-4 for the most important title of her career.

Maria will reach world No. 43 – just one spot shy of her career-high ranking. The German is scheduled to play in the Nottingham Open qualifying next week as her final preparatory tournament before her appearance at Wimbledon. On the other hand, Anisimova secured her best ranking as world No. 13 and will face the WTA 500 Berlin Ladies Open starting Monday, looking to maintain a strong start to the grass-swing, despite the final loss.