Daria Kasatkina appeared to be heading toward a very comfortable Seoul final win but then blew it all as Beatriz Haddad Maia came back to win 1-6 6-4 6-1.
When the match started, the top-seeded Russian was absolutely dominating and was up by a set and a break after winning eight of the opening nine games of the match. But from that moment on, the momentum and the rhythm of the final completely changed as the third seed took 12 of the next 14 games to create a stunning comeback victory.
By overcoming Kasatkina, Haddad Maia claimed her first title of the year and also improved to four WTA titles. On the other side, Kasatkina stays on one title won in 2024 and seven career titles.
Also, the head-to-head between the two now stands 3-1 in the Brazilian's favor.
How Haddad Maia recovered to beat Kasatkina?
After holding to their opening service games and splitting the first two games of the match, the 13th-ranked Russian went on a major run as she collected three breaks in a row and won the next seven games for a 6-1 2-0 lead and she also later led 3-1.
Down by a set and a break, the world No. 17 suddenly started to play much better and responded with back-to-back breaks and by winning the next five games to overturn the deficit and force a decider.
After losing the second set in a devastating way, Kasatkina managed to save a break point in the second game of the third set and tie it to one game apiece.
However, the momentum was still heavily on Haddad Maia's side and the final finished by the third set winning the last five games of the match to seal the victory in a very impressive way.
Previously this year, Haddad Maia finished as runner-up in Cleveland.
