WTA 500 Monterrey: Heroic, Diane Parry wins her first WTA title

Since her quarterfinal in Berlin last June, Diane Parry’s summer hasn’t lived up to all its promises. Struggling, the French player was notably eliminated in the first round at Prague then at Toronto. Last week, however, she distinguished herself with a great run at Cincinnati. A few days before the US Open, the Nice native is building confidence with her week at the WTA 500 in Monterrey, Mexico.

Fighter, Diane Parry has a very good week reaching the semifinals

Fine performance by Diane Parry in the first round against Donna Vekić, 36th in the world. The first set is very competitive. Diane plays good tennis, but ultimately loses after more than an hour of play at the end of a tiebreak. The French player transforms her frustration into positive energy and breaks at the start of the second set. She maintains her advantage throughout and converts her sixth set point to draw level at one set each. In confidence, Diane quickly takes control of the third set. She cruises and claims a triple break late in the match to ultimately win in three sets: 6/7-6/4-6/1.

In the second round, Diane Parry faces another higher-ranked player, Oleksandra Oliynykova, 46th in the world. The match is very tight between the two players, but the French player shows great application and consistency. The Nice native makes the difference in play with her sliced backhand and a heavy forehand that troubled her opponent. Diane ultimately wins in two sets (6/4, 7/6) following a very fine performance.

In the third round, Diane Parry faces Clara Tauson. The Danish player had created an upset in the previous round by eliminating the tournament’s top seed, Ekaterina Alexandrova, 18th in the world. Diane puts in a very fine performance and wins in two sets. Incisive and meticulous, she is very aggressive, with her forehand regularly making the difference and her net approaches being highly impactful. Down 5/2 in the second set, the French player completely turns the tide and wins 7/5 after saving three set points. Final score: 6/3-7/5.

Perfect end to the tournament for Diane Parry, who wins the first title of her WTA career

Facing fifth seed Ann Li in the semifinal, Diane Parry once again faces a higher-ranked opponent. Another tough battle for the Nice native, who quickly finds herself in difficulty in this match. Down 5 games to 2 in the first set, Diane Parry stages an impressive comeback. She first saves two set points to get back on level terms and force a tiebreak, before saving 5 more set points to win the deciding game 9-7.

In a more balanced second set, the French player makes the difference by breaking her opponent late in the set. She ultimately wins 7/6-6/4 and reaches the first final of her WTA career. Once again, her mental strength made the difference, as did her powerful and often decisive forehand.

In the final, Diane Parry faces Elise Mertens, the tournament’s second seed. The Nice native was coming off a victory over the Belgian player a few days earlier, in the second round of Cincinnati. After 2.5 hours of battle, Diane Parry experiences the greatest moment of her young career: she secures her first WTA title. The French player had given herself a scare by losing the second set 6/0. But in line with her superb week, she manages to quickly refocus and ultimately wins in three sets.

A success all the more remarkable as she wins the match having won fewer points than her opponent. But that’s beside the point: Diane Parry wins the WTA 500 in Monterrey, the first title of her WTA career, just days before the final Grand Slam of the season.

Thanks to this exceptional week, Diane Parry soon reaches at nearly 24 years old her best career ranking, 31st in the world. The Nice native will now head to New York, where she will play her first round at the US Open in the coming days against Viktorija Golubic.