Alycia Parks turns heads in breakthrough run in Lyon

WTA Tour
Alycia Parks WTA rankings

Alycia Parks will contest her first WTA 250 final after a breakthrough week in Lyon which has seen her go on a tear.

Parks had far too much in the tank for Maryna Zanevska of Belgium as she claimed a 6-3, 7-6(4) win in the Open 6ème Sens Métropole de Lyon semifinals on Saturday.

It took Parks just short of two hours to battle past the Belgian, who rallied to force a second set tiebreak.

“I think the key was just staying focused, and taking my time out there,” Parks said, after her bgi semi-final win.

“Every time I got ahead of myself, I would kind of lose points, so I would tell myself to slow down.

“This whole week, I’m kind of relaxed this week, and just kept playing my game and doing me.”

Parks continues to make gains on the WTA Rankings having already risen 120 places in the last 12 months thanks to her efforts in winning two WTA 125 events during that time.

Having enjoyed a dominant week marked by some incredible shotmaking, Parks looked fantastic out of the gate racing to a 5-1 lead in the first set in no time at all.

Zanevska wouldn’t go quietly though as she saved six set points as she clawed her way back to 5-3 before Parks eventually got the job done in the opening frame.

Parks couldn’t craft an early opening in the second set but had a chance to serve for the match at 5-4 up but having failed to do so needed to save two set points to prevent Zanevska forcing a third set.

Granted two match points in the tiebreaker, Parks held her nerve this time and closed out the match at the first of those two.

Parks will have a huge task on her hands in the final if she wants to claim her first WTA 250 title as she faces home favourite Caroline Garcia, who ended 2022 as one of the form players.

Garcia cruised past Colombia’s Camila Osorio 6-2, 6-2 in Saturday’s second semifinal.

She was happy enough with her clinical 6-2, 6-2 win clinched in just 72 minutes.

“Definitely a good match, very solid from my side,” Garcia said afterward. “Every day I feel more comfortable and enjoying more the atmosphere at home. It’s a privilege and a chance to be able to play a final in France, and a final in my own town.

“I arrived to play my game, to be very accurate from the beginning. It’s one of the most important weapons in my game and I have to keep improving on that. [Osorio is] a tough opponent, she’s moving very well through the court. I had some tough moments, but I was able to go past [them].”

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Alycia Parks Caroline Garcia

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