Emma Raducanu has reached her first final since the 2021 US Open. The British No. 1 defeated Oleksandra Oliynykova 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 in a tough semi-final to clinch her place in Saturday’s Transylvania Open final in Cluj.
She now has a chance to win her first title since her incredible success at Flushing Meadows in 2021, when she announced herself as a real force on the WTA Tour.
Two British women will compete in different WTA Tour finals on the same day for the first time, with Katie Boulter reaching the final of the Ostrava Open.
What kind of physical or mental condition Raducanu, the top seed, will be in for the final against Sorana Cirstea remains to be seen after enduring one of the toughest matches of her career. It was an exhausting match for Raducanu against the Ukrainian, who employed a number of frustrating tactics, including heavy use of the moon ball and slices, and the Brit was left physically shattered after a nearly three-hour battle.
“What an incredible match,” Raducanu said. “I think it’s all props to my opponent today. She played incredibly, which makes it so difficult to get a ball past her. You think it’s past her, and then the ball is on your baseline or on your sideline, so it’s so difficult.”
“I’m just most proud of how I competed, how I came back in the third set, how I managed the match. I honestly don’t know if I could have done this without everyone’s support.”
The world number 91 adopted her furious tactics especially well late in the first set, after Raducanu had broken to lead 5-4. It paid off when she broke back, but Raducanu stayed strong to claim another break at 5-5 in a huge match and then served out the set with relative ease.
The British player then broke in the opening game of the second set to raise hopes of a more comfortable route to victory as she opened a 3-1 lead. But Oliynykova would not go away and turned the set on its head with a run of five straight games to level the scores as Raducanu had no answers for her unusual style.
Raducanu showed her fighting spirit after being down 2-1 in the decider to take back control of the match, winning 16 consecutive points to come close to victory. She missed two match points on Oliynykova’s serve, but eventually finished the job behind her own serve.
Earlier, British number 4 Boulter defeated American Katie Volynets 6-1, 6-3 to secure a place in the final of the Ostrava Open.
Boulter, now world number 120, broke in the opening game and then in the fifth to take a 4-1 lead before taking the set when Volynets’ serve faltered again. Volynets, number 96 in the world, forced an early break in the first game of the second set, but the Briton responded immediately to 1-1.
Boulter then went on the attack with some power across the field. Another break in game eight forced her to serve for the match, which she finished after recovering from 0–40 to keep her nerves in check and advance to a fifth WTA final.
#Emma #Raducanu #final #Open #Transylvania #Open