Cincinnati (United States) (AFP)

Australian Ashleigh Barty won the WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati on Sunday with an easy victory over Switzerland's Jil Teichmann, 76th in the world, 6-3, 6-1.

At the end of a week in which she has not conceded any set, Barty, world No. 1, won her fifth title of the season (13th in career), one week before the US Open where she will be among the favorites.

Barty has never been in danger against Jil Teichmann, who surprised this week by eliminating world No.2 Naomi Osaka, Swiss Belinda Bencic, Olympic champion in Tokyo, as well as world No.4 Karolina Pliskova, to reach the fourth final of his career, the first this season.

After breaking at 4-3, Barty quietly controlled the first set, concluded with an ace, before breaking early in the second set.

At 5-0 and serving for the match, she conceded her serve, before finally winning on the fifth break point of the 14 conceded by Teichmann, who is the lowest ranked player to advance to the final at Cincinnati since. 2008.

Becoming the first Australian to win Cincinnati since Evonne Goolagong in 1973, Ashleigh Barty makes an appointment one week before the US Open, one of the two Grand Slam titles still missing from her record - she won Roland Garros in 2019 and Wimbledon in 2021.

© 2021 AFP