Russian Veronika Kudermetova beat Danka Kovinic of Montenegro 6-4 6-2 in the final of the Volvo Car Open to clinch her maiden WTA title without dropping a set all week.
As the WTA Insider reports, after the Charleston semis, Kudermetova tried to convince her coach Sergey Demekhine that clay was her favorite surface, but he was perplexed, as her best results had been on grass and hard courts. “Now I think he trusts me,” Kudermetova remarked after her victory in Sunday’s Charleston final.
Kudermetova after the semis: “I told Sergey that I think clay is my favorite surface. He said why? You do your best results on grass and hardcourt. But I said no, I think clay is better for me.
“Now, I think he trusts me.” #VolvoCarOpen pic.twitter.com/JyQeRCYAdG
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) April 11, 2021
The 23-year-old Kudermetova is enjoying the best season of her career. Before Charleston, the Russian reached her first WTA singles final at the season-opening tournament in Abu Dhabi and followed it up with the St. Petersburg quarterfinals.
En route to the final against world No.91 Kovinic, Kudermetova beat American qualifier Desirae Krawczyk in the first round, local wildcard Emma Navarro in the second, Japanese qualifier Kurumi Nara in the third round, former champion Sloane Stephens in the quarterfinals and unseeded Spaniard Paula Badosa in the semifinals.
The 15th-seeded Kudermetova hit six aces in Sunday’s title match and became the ace leader in 2021 with 130 aces, overcoming Ashleigh Barty’s 127.
Results in Charleston will take Kudermetova’s total career prize money past $2 million.
