Playing on a grey singles-only court at a unique location of the historic Berlin Tempelhof Airport hangar, Elina Svitolina rallied to beat Petra Kvitova 3-6 6-1 10-5 in the final of the two-part Bett1 Aces exhibition.
The title match was two days late, as rain washed out Wednesday’s schedule and the organizers decided to transfer the final to the second tier of the competition, so instead of playing on grass, Kvitova and Svitolina battled on a hard court inside one of Europe’s three iconic pre-World War II airports.
After finishing the grasscourt leg of the competition, which was, truth be told, not played entirely on grass, both players will also participate in the hardcourt, second part of the tournament.
After the final, we had an all-German meeting between Andrea Petkovic, who is in the closing stage of her career, and Alexandra Vecic, an 18-year-old about to make her transition to the senior circuit. The 32-year-old Petkovic, once ranked inside the Top 10, eased past the youngster 6-2 6-3 to reach the semifinals of the Bett1 Aces, where she will face Petra Kvitova who is enjoying a first-round bye.
The second semifinal in the Berlin Tempelhof Airport hangar will be played between Elina Svitolina, another player who has a bye in the opening round, and Anastasija Sevastova, who defeated Kiki Bertens 6-1 6-4 in the third women’s match on Friday’s schedule.
