Australian tennis has been given a major boost on the eve of Roland Garros, as teenager Maya Joint powered to her maiden WTA tour title in Morocco.
The 19-year-old Brisbane-based comet Joint collapsed to the clay in joy in Rabat on Saturday after outplaying Romanian Jaqueline Cristian 6-3 6-2 in the Morocco Open final in Rabat.
A rip-roaring display from the US-born daughter of a Sydney dad, who has rocketed through the rankings in just 18 months since basing herself in Queensland, left her emotional before she jets off to Paris for her Roland Garros debut.
Confirming herself as one of the sport’s finest young talents, Joint added the singles crown to a maiden doubles victory she had annexed alongside Georgia’s Oksana Kalashnikova the day before.
> READ: Joint reflects on crazy but “super exciting” rise
“Must be something about Morocco,” she beamed afterwards on court. “It’s been a an amazing week. The conditions really tested both of us – this crowd was unbelievable.”
Joint did not drop a set in the path to her first WTA singles title, claiming earlier wins over Ana Konjuh, Katie Volynets (the No.9 seed) and the fourth-seeded Ann Li.
She required one hour and 20 minutes to overcome Cristian in the championship match.
At the same time last year, Joint was ranked outside the world’s top 200; with victory in Rabat, she is on the cusp of cracking the world’s top 50 in the WTA live rankings.
It makes her the second-ranked Australian woman behind Daria Kasatkina at No.17. Kimberly Birrell, who has also hit new heights in the past year, will rank No.67 in the next rankings release.
In Paris, Joint will face a first-round encounter against Australian luminary Ajla Tomljanovic, who retired with illness after losing the first set of their semifinal on Friday.
She is one of 16 Australian players – nine men and seven women – to contest the Roland Garros main draw.
> READ: Draw sets for Aussie stars at Roland Garros
