After a grueling week of tennis, shooting and editing non-stop for 10-14 hours a day, we finally arrived at Finals Day.  If you want to see me in action, watch this recap.  I’m the photographer in the tan hat at the end of the clip who got the shot of Kiki hugging her coach after winning the finals:

The players didn’t have it so easy either. Because of weather, all the finalists ended up having to play BOTH their semi-finals AND finals matches on the same day!!! Kiki Bertens played a tough 3-set semi-finals match in the morning, prevailing over the last American in the draw, Madison Keys. Then she had to play Julia Goerges, who is banging on the door of the Top 10, in the finals that same afternoon. Kiki came out with guns blazing and took home the Singles Trophy with an impressive 6-2, 6-1 display of high-percentage tennis.

At 26 years old, Kiki Bertens is known for her strength on the clay court. She has 5 WTA titles to her credit, all being on clay, with the Volvo Car Open being her biggest win yet. What a great way to start the clay-court season!

“I really liked that I was back on the clay, to be honest. But it was just a dream to win the title here. I never thought about it all week. Even this morning, I wasn’t thinking about the title, I was just trying to play as good as I can and now I have the trophy.”

Kiki Bertens is the FIRST EVER Volvo Car Open champion from the Netherlands!