Sharma Shocks Jabeur In Charleston For First WTA Title

Astra Sharma of Australia rallied from a set down to stun the heavily-favored Ons Jabeur 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 to win her first WTA title in the Charleston final on Sunday.

“To come out of this with a win, it’s really unexpected, it’s amazing for me, I have no words,” Sharma said.

In just her second career final after 2019 Bogota two years ago, Sharma was blown away in the opening set before getting her teeth into the second. The former Vanderbilt standout couldn’t hold a break lead, but Jabeur failed to convert two points to force a breaker.

In the third, the 165h-ranked Sharma took the final four games for her biggest moment as a pro.

“This time, I was a lot more calm and just held my nerve really well,” Sharma said referring to Bogota. “Especially with Ons playing such high-level tennis in the first, I thought I did well to just reset in the second and just keep making her come up with the same shots.

“I thought Ons played an amazing first set,” Sharma added. “I didn’t know, really, what to do. She was wrong-footing me, she was dropshotting me, she was making me cover a lot of court, and I really couldn’t read what she was doing.”

“I think in the second set, I managed to get a little sniff here and there,” she said. “And by the third set, it was hot, humid, and I think I was a little bit more energetic than her and my intensity was still the same, so I think that was what eventually gave me the lead.”

The 27th-ranked Jabeur was also playing in her second WTA final, and she remains winless.

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