Czech qualifier Marketa Vondrousova continued to sweep through the Ladies Open Biel Bienne draw, eliminating top seed Barbora Strycova in the semis and setting up a finals meeting with fellow debutante Anett Kontaveit of Estonia, who worked hard to get past Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
The world No.18 Strycova had a 5-2 lead in the opening set against Vondrousova and later a set point in the 12th game, but the tired youngster realized she should shorten rallies and attack, which proved to be a good strategy. Vondrousova managed to force a tiebreak and then showed her best tennis in it. The 17-year-old Vondrousova raced to a 5-2 lead in the second set and broke Strycova in what proved to be the last game of the match to record her biggest victory this week, 7-6(3) 6-2. In her first WTA semifinal, the 233rd-ranked Vondrousova won as many as 79% of points on her first serve.
Vondrousova’s opponent in the title match will be fellow first-time finalist Kontaveit, 21, who twice recovered from a break down in the third set to outlast Sasnovich 6-4 4-6 7-5.
It will be the first meeting between Vondrousova and Kontaveit. (photos: Jimmie48)
I remember watching the highlights of the final. Anett is really good in English and she delivered a nice runner up speech. She’s the future of Estonia.