No. 2 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova rallied to beat Hailey Baptiste after saving a match point in the second set of their semifinal at the WTA 500 Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open on Friday, setting up a championship match with qualifier Sara Bejlek, who upset third seed Clara Tauson in three tight sets.
I’m beyond all emotions because that was a rollercoaster. Of course I’m a bit tired, but tomorrow is the last match. If I win, the recovery will actually be faster. Sara Bejlek
“Before the tournament I didn’t think about playing the final here,” Alexandrova admitted afterwards. “In the second set I really thought: ‘This is the end’. I am super happy that I could get past two sets. Of course it feels great.”
After dropping the first set, Alexandrova fought back to beat the 24-year-old American wildcard 3-6 7-6(5) 6-3 to secure a place in the final.
The 31-year-old Russian saved a match point while trailing 5-4 in the second set, controlled her serve and won the tiebreak before eventually taking the third, having saved the last three break point chances Baptiste generated in the final match on her way to her 13th career WTA Tour final.
The two had practiced together several times but never played a match, and Alexandrova needed 2 hours and 24 minutes to fend off Baptiste, guaranteeing her a return to the Top 10.
“It feels great,” Alexandrova said with a laugh in her on-court interview. “I didn’t think about that during the match. You know, after this difficult match, I think it’s pretty good news that you just told me.”
Other positives include the 33 winners she hit, and the fact she beat Baptiste in the serving battle, but there is still plenty to clean up ahead of Saturday’s final as the Russian made 59 unforced errors and struggled mightily at the net, winning just 4 of 13 points from close range.
© Fadel Senna/AFP via Getty Images
Although Alexandrova proved on Friday that she can surpass those numbers, she will have to be sharper against Sara Bejlek, who played her 7th match in 8 days and is running on pure adrenaline until the final.
After winning two qualifying matches, the 20-year-old Czech dismissed American Ashlyn Krueger, seventh seed Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia and Britain’s Sonay Kartal before beating Tauson 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 in Friday’s second semi-final, which lasted 2 hours and 49 minutes.
“I try to fight for every ball, no matter what happens,” Bejlek said on the field after the match. “So I’m happy how it turned out [to be] today, but I’m super tired.
It was a huge shock for the world number 14 from Denmark, and the first victory over a Top 20 player for Bejlek, who arrived in Abu Dhabi ranked 101. Alexandrova could be the second.
Bejlek saved two break points to hold the score at 5-4, which proved crucial as after Tauson held the score at 5-5, the Dane needed a medical timeout due to a problem with her right foot.
However, the young Czech did not let her opponent’s misfortune distract her and remained calm to win the final two games of the opener, capping a break in the final game with a running backhand winner.
Bejlek scored 11 consecutive points between the first and second sets, but Tauson quickly regained her position, winning four straight games and taking a 4–1 lead, leveling the match at a set with a forehand winner until a break of serve and forcing the decider.
World number 14 Clara Tauson lost the marathon semi-final to Sara Bejlek at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi on Friday
© Christopher Pike/Getty Images
The third set seesawed back and forth as they traded breaks, but the decisive moment came at 5, when Tauson saved 4 break points in a marathon game of 7 deuces, before Bejlek finally broke for 6-5.
The Czech then closed the match with the biggest lead of her career and set up a first-ever meeting with Alexandrova.
Bejlek had not dropped a set in any of her previous five matches this week, but Friday’s marathon pushed her to her limits.
“I don’t have any emotions anymore because that was a rollercoaster,” Bejlek added. “Of course I’m a bit tired, but tomorrow is the last match. Actually, the recovery will be faster if I win.”
Her reward is a career rise to No. 52 in the live rankings, with a chance to crack the Top 50 if she can beat another Top 20 opponent in her first WTA final on Saturday in Alexandrova.
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