Coco Vandeweghe lost to Noppawan Lertcheewakarn in the last round of qualifying for the $740,000 Bank of the West Classic, then entered the tournament main draw when Bojana Jovanovski pulled out, and now she’s all the way into her first WTA final, becoming the first lucky loser in seven years to reach the title match. The last obstacle between Vandeweghe and the Stanford trophy will be fellow American top seed Serena Williams.
In the semifinals the 20-year-old Vandeweghe defeated fifth seed Yanina Wickmayer 6-2 3-6 6-2, winning 86% of points on her first serve. However, only 47% of her first serves went in and that’s something she has to improve. Serena beat ninth seed Sorana Cirstea 6-1 6-2 in the semis, hitting 14 winners to 14 unforced errors, while her opponent hit 10 winners to 32 unforced errors.
The 20-year-old Vandeweghe has one Top 10 victory under her belt, but Serena Williams is a huge favorite in their first meeting. Since the beginning of April Serena has lost just one match, the infamous first round of the French Open, and she won titles at Charleston, Madrid and Wimbledon. (photo: sr_cranks)
