Tennis News: Hamburg European Open: Bernarda Pera to clash with Anett Kontaveit in the final
World No. 81 Bernarda Pera of the United States won against No. 7 seed Maryna Zanevska of Belgium 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the championship match of the Hamburg European Open at Am Rothenbaum in Hamburg
Bernarda PeraBernarda Pera has advanced to her second WTA tour-level final in a row after winning her maiden WTA trophy at the Hungarian Open last week. The victory over Maryna Zanevska in the semifinals extended her winning streak to 11 matches and 22 consecutive sets.
Bernarda Pera put forth an excellent display of explosive serve, and powerful forehand returns to dominate her Belgian opponent. She raced to a 4-1 lead and got a double break, but a shot into the net to reignite the hopes of Maryna Zanevska. However, Pera immediately broke the Croatian in the next before clinching the first set 6-2.
Maryna Zanevska tried to take control of the rallies with her forehand but failed to sustain the momentum. She worked hard to hold the American at 5/5 in the seventh but soon fell to the superior prowess of her opponent. The 27-year-old Croatian-born American fired 23 winners, won 69% of the points on the first serve and committed four unforced errors compared to 14 winners, 60% of the points on first serve and 16 unforced errors by Zanevska.
The victory improved the win-loss record of Bernarda Pera for the season to 11-5, with nine of her wins coming after the 2022 Wimbledon. She had spent two months off the court following a thigh injury, following which she lost five consecutive matches before starting her winning run earlier this month.
Anett Kontaveit beats Anastasia Potapova to reach the final in Hamburg
No. 1 seed Anett Kontaveit emerged victorious 6-3, 7-5 in the semifinal clash against Anastasia Potapova of Russia to reach the 16th tour-level final of her career. It is her first last since losing to Iga Swiatek in the Championship match of the Doha Open in February this year.
Anett Kontaveit fired 17 winners to nine by her Russian opponent to comfortably win the opening set 6-3. She raced to a 5-2 lead in the second set, but Anastasia Potapova roared back and clinched three consecutive points to send the match into a tiebreak. However, Anett Kontaveit broke back to make it 6-5 before she served to book a spot in the championship match.
Anett Kontaveit has a Head2Head record of 1-0 against Bernarda Pera. The pair locked horns for the first time in the opening round of this year’s Wimbledon, where Anett Kontaveit secured a straight set 7-5, 6-1 victory.