Buyukakcay ends year on a high with Al Habtoor victory

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  • Giant-killer: Cagla Buyukakcay.

    Turkey’s Cagla Buyukakcay became the first ever player to win both the singles and doubles titles in the same edition of Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge as she pulled off an impressive double in Dubai on Saturday to finish off her season on a high.

    Buyukakcay, who entered the week at the Habtoor Grand resort ranked No158 in the world and was seeded No6, captured her biggest title to date by triumphing at the $75K ITF event in Dubai and she did it in tremendous fashion, toppling the No1 and No2 seeds en route to lifting the trophy.

    After taking out defending champion and top seed Alexandra Dulgheru in the quarter-finals, Buyukakcay went on to reach the final, where she beat the second-seeded Klara Koukalova 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday.

    She then returned to the court partnering Greece’s Maria Sakkari to defeat Ipek Soylu and Elise Mertens in the doubles final.

    “It’s amazing to finish my season like this,” Buyukakcay, 26, told Sport360.

    “This is my first 75K title ever. Of course I was so motivated when I came here because it’s a good tournament and I had played it last year. I really enjoy Dubai when I come so I said to myself ‘I want to do my best’. Every day was tough for me. But from second round I started playing my best tennis. And it’s really great to finish this year on a high.”

    Congratulations to Cagla Buyukakcay from Turkey – The #AHTC2015 SinglesChampion! In a breathtaking match, she has defeatedKlara Koukalova 6:7-6:4-6:4 #AlHabtoorTennis #AlHabtoorTennisChallenge #Finals #tennis #ahtclive

    Posted by Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge on Saturday, November 14, 2015

    Buyukakcay had started her 2015 season well, qualifying to the main draw in Shenzhen and even winning a round at the Premier WTA event in Dubai in February, which saw her reach a career-high ranking of 108.

    She then slipped in the rankings but has managed to grab two ITF titles in the final three months of the season – a $25K in Georgia and now and a $75K in Dubai.

    “My year was really up and down. I started well and had some of my best wins but then I had some tough times. I played more WTA events and I lost many matches but I believe it was a learning year for me. But after have those new experiences, I started winning again starting September and now to finish like this is perfect.

    “I’m definitely motivated for next year.”

    Buyukakcay is the highest ranked Turkish player in the WTA rankings and she is taking her position as an ambassador for the game back home quite seriously.

    “It’s important for me to improve my tennis because we don’t have a big history of tennis in Turkey,” she says.

    “If I do well everybody back home will start to believe more. “We’re starting to have a lot more players on tour, which was not the case say four or five years ago. So I hope I will also give motivation to the others from Turkey to improve as well.”

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