Tennis-Barty beats Pliskova to win maiden Miami Open title

Reuters

March 30 (Reuters) - Ashleigh Barty defeated Karolina Pliskova 7-6(1) 6-3 on Saturday to win her maiden Miami Open title and become the first Australian woman since 2013 to reach the top 10 in the world rankings.

After dominating the first set tiebreak, Barty broke the big-serving Pliskova in a 12-minute game to open the second set.

From there on the fatigued Czech, whose semi-final win over Simona Halep finished after 1 am local time earlier on Saturday due to rain delays, put up little resistance.

Barty pumped her fists when Pliskova sent a forehand long on match point to hand the 22-year-old the biggest win of her career, which includes a $1.3 million pay check.

Barty is the first Australian women since Samantha Stosur to crack the WTA's top 10. (Reporting by Rory Carroll, editing by Pritha Sarkar)