(Reuters) - France's Caroline Garcia survived a difficult opening set before beating top seed Karolina Pliskova 7-6(7) 6-3 to lift the Tianjin Open title on Sunday.
Trailing 5-1 in the tiebreak, Garcia made the most of Pliskova's two backhand errors to clinch the opening set after just over an hour of play.
With momentum on her side, Garcia broke Pliskova's serve twice to claim her first WTA title since her back-to-back triumphs in Wuhan and Beijing last year.
"I was a little bit more aggressive than her, and I think that's what made the difference in the first set," the 24-year-old Garcia said.
"Of course, I've won three titles in China so it's bringing me luck... China is doing a lot for women's tennis."
The defeat means Pliskova will have to wait to book a place at the WTA Finals, but the Czech remains eighth in the Race to Singapore standings.
(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis)