The WTA tournaments in Mexico, Tunisia, and Slovenia are reaching their conclusions this weekend, with Britain’s Sonay Kartal seeking her first trophy at this level in Monastir. It was a very good match. I thought I played exceptionally well throughout the whole match. I mean, I got a little bit nervous at 4-1, I started to think a little bit ahead and that sort of thing. But I just kept believing in myself and just kept backing myself, and I’m really pleased with myself. Olivia Gadecki
Monastir | WTA 250 Jasmin Open by Lilas
British No 4 Sonay Kartal made it into her first WTA Tour final after her opponent, Eva Lys from Germany, retired through illness when the 22-year-old was leading their semi-final 5-1 at the Jasmin Open in Monastir, Tunisia. A win in the final would see Kartal break into the Top 100 for the first time if she can win the trophy on Sunday. Kartal came through qualifying and has enjoyed a career-best week, which could culminate in her maiden main tour title when she takes on Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova in the final on Sunday. A former junior rival of Emma Raducanu, Kartal was only on court for 24 minutes before Lys called it a day after receiving on-court medical attention, complaining of dizziness. The 22-year-old from Brighton will now aim to join Katie Boulter as a British WTA Tour winner this season.
“Obviously, no-one wants to win a match like that,” said Kartal. “She’s a super nice girl, which makes it even tougher. Obviously, I’m happy to be in the final, but it’s definitely not the way I would have liked to have won today.” It also is a first WTA Tour final for Rebecca Sramkova, who got the better of Lucia Bronzetti, upsetting the Italian 7th seed, 6-3 6-4, in her semi-final. “I’m sure we’re both going to be feeling a bit heavy, we’re both going to be a bit nervous, but, ultimately, it will be who can put on the best performance on the big stage,” Kartal added.
It has been a stand-out summer for Kartal, who reached the 3rd-round of Wimbledon as a qualifier before winning 2 lower-tier tournaments in the UK, and making the final round of qualifying at the US Open. Aussie qualifier Olivia Gadecki beat Camila Osorio in 79 minutes to reach her first WTA final at the Guadalajara Open Akron presented by Santander on Saturday
InstagramGuadalajara | WTA 500 Guadalajara Open Akron presented by Santander
Australian qualifier Olivia Gadecki powered into her first career WTA final on Saturday, beating Camila Osorio from Colombia, 6-2 6-3, to book a title showdown with Poland’s Magdalena Frech, the 5th seed, in Guadalajara. The 22-year-old Aussie, who is mentored by Ash Barty, won her 6th straight match in just 79 minutes, while Frech, seeded No 5, had to battle back in both sets to beat 4th-seeded Caroline Garcia of France, 7-6(4) 7-5, after a tense 2 hour 6 minute contest. Sunday’s winner in the 500-level hard-court tournament will claim a first WTA title. 22-year-old Gadecki had never reached a quarter-final until this week, nor had she won a tour-level match since January. Together with compatriot Ajla Tomljanovic, they are the only Australian finalists on tour so far this year, and Gadecki is now aiming to become the first Aussie WTA titlist since former World No 1 Barty won the 2022 Australian Open right before her retirement.
In Saturday’s semi-final, Gadecki took charge by cranking a huge forehand angled crosscourt to break for 4-2 in the first set, and then reeled off the last 4 games, never facing a break point in the opener. She moved ahead with a quick break in the second, but Osorio pulled one get back for 4-3, and while the Colombian found some strong volleys at the tail end of the set, it was not enough to prevent Gadecki from powering to another break for 5-3. Serving for the match, Gadecki stared down 2 break points, but she swatted both away with service winners, and, on her first match point, Osorio sent a forehand long, and the qualifier moved into the final.
“It was a very good match,” Gadecki said after her win. “I thought I played exceptionally well throughout the whole match. I mean, I got a little bit nervous at 4-1, I started to think a little bit ahead and that sort of thing. But I just kept believing in myself and just kept backing myself, and I’m really pleased with myself.” Ranked 152 in the world, Gadecki is the 3rd-lowest ranked player to make a WTA final this year, but her run to the final has included impressive wins over two Americans, former US Open champion Sloane Stephens and 2nd-seeded Danielle Collins. She is guaranteed to break into the Top 100 for the first time when the new rankings are released on Monday.
“This week’s been a special one, and to be top 100 is pretty amazing, and something I’ve strived for my whole career,” Gadecki said. “My game plan was really just to play how I’ve always played. “I’m an aggressive player, and I know I do well when I back myself, and just commit, and I really feel like I did that well today.” Against Caroline Garcia, the 4th seed from France, Magdalena Frech trailed 3-0 in the first set and saved 2 set points at 5-3 before leveling, and, in the tiebreak, she also fell behind 3-0 before taking 6 of the next 7 points to eventually pocket the set. The 5th seed also trained 3-0 in the second, this time down a double break, but she won 3 straight games to level and, again, came back from a break behind at 4-3. Frech, the Polish No 3, made the first WTA singles final of her career on the clay of Prague in July and is now in her first WTA 500 final, also her first on hard courts.
“It’s tough to describe right now, I have a lot of emotions inside of me,” said Frech, who is having a career-best season at the age of 26.“It’s my first WTA 500 final, so it’s really special. It’s a big step.” It was more disappointment for Garcia, whose 2nd-round win over Japan’s Ena Shibahara snapped a 3-match losing streak that included a 1st-round exit at the US Open. Garcia reached the last 4 by a walk-over after Marie Bouzkova, the Czech 6th seed, withdrew because of illness. Frech, Garcia, and Bouzkova were the only seeds to make it out of the 2nd-round of the tournament, which also saw a pre-event withdrawal from defending champion Maria Sakkari from Greece. Entering Guadalajara ranked No 43, one spot off her career high, Frech is now assured of breaking new ground into the Top 40 in Monday’s rankings, regardless of the result in Sunday’s final. British No 6 Fran Jones saw her impressive run in Slovenia end in defeat to Jil Teichmann in the last 4
tenis-slovenija.si
WTA 125 | WTA 2024 Zavarovalnica Sava Ljubljana
Fran Jones, the British No 6, saw her impressive run in Slovenia come to an end in the semi-finals at the hands of Jill Teichmann from Switzerland, 2-6 6-4 6-1, on Saturday.
