First time time finalist to be crowned in Austria as Bouchard and Tig face off in Istanbul
THE upsets continued in the semi-finals of the Generali Open for a couple of title-less ATP Tour players to book spots in the final, while a former Wimbledon finalist takes on another top 100 title-less hope.
FIRST TIME FINALIST TO BE CROWD IN KITZBUHEL
Yannick Hanfmann has continued his remarkable run at the Generali Open, with the German qualifier booking his spot in the final. The world number 118, who has played just 21 ATP Tour matches and has a career-high ranking of 99, was able to outlast his higher ranked opponent Laslo Djere in three sets.
Hanfmann won 4-6 6-3 7-6, surviving an early scare and then a third set tiebreaker that only ended after a 7-5 victory. The German 28-year-old won 63 per cent of his second serve points and won off his third match point opportunity with a backhand winner in a match that lasted two hours and 25 minutes.
”I didn’t feel so good [after the first match points]. At that level, if you miss those chances you can lose the match right away,” Hanfmann said post-match. “I was happy that I had chances to go back up 6-5 and break him. I didn’t make that, so it was a tough few minutes for me to really get settled again.
”In the tie-break, I had a pretty clear mind. I was just trying to play point-by-point… really go for my game and that is what I did. It is fitting that I finished it with a backhand return winner.”
Hanfmann has not only not won a title, the German had not won a Tour match since 2018, but he is on a roll now with six straight victories and eyeing off a seventh in the final. It is not the first time he has stunningly reached an ATP Tour final from qualifying, going all the way in the 2017 Swiss Open before falling to Fabio Fognini.
Now he takes on the much higher ranked Miomir Kecmanovic. The 47th ranked Serbian is also yet to win an ATP Tour title, though his form has been much better. Kecmanovic had a fight of his own against Swiss qualifier and 303rd ranked 24-year-old, Marc-Andrea Huesler. Kecmanovic won 6-2 5-7 6-3 in two hours and 19 minutes, winning 86 per cent of his first serve points.
Kecmanovic did reach his first ATP Tour career final at Antalya last year before losing to Lorenzo Sonego, but the 21-year-old is one of the Next Gen ATP Finals contenders and heads into the match as a strong favourite. However he is not taking anything for granted.
“I know it is not going to be easy because [Yannick] is a big guy [who] serves well, but hopefully I can make him play,” Kecmanovic said post-match. “Like today, [I need to] stay in the point as long as I can and just try to force him to go for too much.”
BOUCHARD DISPOSES OF BADOSA TO FACE TIG IN FINAL
2024 WTA Finals preview: Singles
EIGHT players, one crown. That is what is in store for the prestigious WTA Finals which sees the best of the best going up against one another in a massive round-robin tournament. All four Grand Slam winners qualify automatically each year, with the remaining top ranked players for the calendar year filling out the eight […]
Zheng salutes in Tokyo for first WTA 500 title
A TWO-time winner in Palermo and an Olympic gold medalist in Paris, Chinese world number seven Qinwen Zheng can now add a home continent title to her CV after triumphing in Tokyo today. The top seed at the Pan Pacific Open was able to fend off a determined Sofia Kenin in straight sets, 7-6 6-3 […]
Zheng fights off Shnaider, sets up Kenin clash
A DROUGHT will be broken one way or another in today’s Pan Pacific Open final in Tokyo when top seed Qinwen Zheng and American wildcard Sofia Kenin face off the in the WTA 500’s decider. Zheng is gunning for her first WTA Tour title outside of Palermo, while Kenin can break an incredible four-year titleless […]
No Tokyo drift for Kenin; upsets Kasatkina
FORMER Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin is steadily building her way back up the world rankings, and is now through to the semi-finals of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. The American talent took out third seed Daria Kasatkina in the quarter finals, winning 6-3 6-4 in an hour and 18 minutes on Center Court. […]
Zheng seizes control to take out Uchijima in Tokyo
A DOMINANT purple patch when 5-4 down in the first set lit the flame of top seed Qinwen Zheng in Tokyo as the Chinese talent won the last nine games of the match against local hope Moyuka Uchijima to reach the Pan Pacific Open quarter finals. Uchijima took it up to Zheng early, was no […]
Bia’s back allows Bibi boost into Tokyo quarters
THERE was a sense of empathy coming from one side of the net to the other when injury-prone Bianca Andreescu shook hands with second seed Beatriz Haddad Maia after just three games. Haddad Maia suffered a left back injury and had to retire at 0-3 down in the opening set of the pair’s Pan Pacific […]
Katie Boults into Tokyo second round
BRITISH ninth seed Katie Boulter wasted no time in dismissing Australian qualifier Priscilla Hon to race into the Round of 16 at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo overnight. The sole seed in action, and only match that did not contain a local Japanese hope, Boulter needed just 77 minutes to get past Hon 6-1 […]
Turkish qualifier upsets Pole in Tokyo
AN EARLY upset on day one saw Turkish qualifier Zeynep Sonmez take out seventh seed Magdalena Frech to reach the second round of the WTA 500 event in Tokyo. Sonmez – ranked 148th in the world – defeated Frech 1-6 6-4 6-3, coming back from the brink to post the victory in an hour and […]
WTA Tour winners: Lamens storms to maiden title
DUTCH qualifier Suzan Lamens is officially a WTA Tour title winner after defeating fellow qualifier Kimberly Birrell in a comprehensive 72-minute rout at the Japan Open overnight. Lamens had a tournament to remember, with the world number 125 ending up favourite in the final despite being a qualifier, destroying Birrell 6-0 6-4. There was always […]
