Frech finishes off Gadecki to claim maiden title
IN A battle of two players yet to win a WTA Tour title, it was Poland’s Magdalena Frech who capped off a marvellous WTA 500 tournament in Mexico to take out the Guadalajara Open yesterday. The fifth seed survived a hard-fought win over Australian qualifier Olivia Gadecki 7-6 6-4 in just under two hours.
While Frech was in her second WTA Tour final after reaching the Prague decider earlier this year, Gadecki was in unchartered territory. The 152nd ranked Aussie had never made a WTA Tour quarter final let alone a final, but was up for the fight against her far higher ranked opponent.
The world 43 has enjoyed a strong season in 2024, having impressed on both the clay and hardcourts, and has risen up to 32nd in the world with the rankings updated today. Frech said 2024 had been incredibly memorable for her.
“Australian Open fourth round, the final in Prague, and the title here, it’s the most amazing year of my career for sure,” Frech said post-match. “I’m super proud about my achievements this year, it’s really amazing.
“Hard work from the previous years is paying off right now, and I’m so glad about this. I will try to keep this momentum going.”
The first set was an incredibly tight one, with neither player willing to give an inch. Frech got the upper hand in the 11th point of the tiebreaker off her serve, then Gadecki hit an unforced error on set point which handed the fifth seed the opening set.
The second set was similar, though Frech broke to go up 5-3 at one stage, only for Gadecki to break back and get on serve once again. However she was shaky on her own service game as the Pole broke her to love to take out the win, and the championship in style.
“Everything was going so fast for me,” Frech said. “Actually when I lost this game [with the first match point], I said to myself, ‘It’s now or never, it’s your chance to win this match in two sets,’ and it’s going to be always tougher because she was playing really, really well.”
Despite losing, the 22-year-old Gadecki shot up a massive 64 ranking spots into 88th in the world, reaching the Top 100 for the first time in her career. Incredibly, Gadecki is now the top ranked Aussie.
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