Alycia Parks capped off a strong week at the Open In Arte Angers Loire final, taking down Swiss wildcard (and new mother) Belinda Bencic 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-0 in a showdown on Sunday.
Bencic started the match strong, breaking Parks in the very first game. Parks however, would find her stride and claw her way back into the set, forcing a first set tiebreaker. Parks locked in, jumped to a big lead and never looked back, snatching the first set from Bencic 7-6(4).
Bencic really managed to clean things up in the second and was able to even the match at a set apiece. And just when it seemed Bencic had regained the momentum of the match, Parks became relentless, and would take the air out of the Swiss’ sails, cruising to an easy 6-0 victory in the third.
It was a good week for Bencic who’s recently back on tour after giving birth to a daughter in April. Based on this result, it looks like she’ll have no problem finding her form sooner than later, and should be back to her winning ways in 2025.
Parks, who was cookin’ all week under new coach Jeremy Chardy, takes home her third challenger title of the season, and with the win, will end the season back in the WTA Top 100 (#89), when the rankings drop next week.
Big ups to Alycia, she’s got the game, the talent, and now, another Angers title. Hopefully this is just the beginning of more good things to come for Parks as we move into the new year.
