McCartney Kessler secures first WTA title in Cleveland

Field Level Media|published: 08/24/2024, 5:57pm EDT

Jul 30, 2024; Washington, DC, USA; McCartney Kessler (USA) serves against Marie Bouzkova (CZE) (not pictured) on day four of the Mubadala Citi DC Open at Rock Creek Park Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

American McCartney Kessler stunned No. 1 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil on Saturday, shaking off a brutal first set for a 1-6, 6-1, 7-5 victory in the final of Tennis in the Land in Cleveland.

It was Kessler's first career WTA Tour title.

Kessler thrived as an underdog in the tournament, ousting No. 4 seed Xinyu Wang of China and No. 5 seed Anastasia Potapova of Russia before completing the upset of Haddad Maia.

On Saturday, Kessler didn't get into a groove until the second set, where she took six games in a row after falling behind 1-0. The 25-year-old then trailed 3-1 in the third set before rallying for the win over Haddad Maia, who entered the match ranked No. 23 in the world.

Kessler won 32 of 46 first-serve points and matched Haddad Maia in aces and double faults with three and four, respectively.

--Field Level Media