Maria Sakkari and Anett Kontaveit powered into the final of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy on Saturday. The top two seeds, however, had different paths to reach the title clash. Sakkari, the top seed needed three hours and four minutes to quell Irina-Camelia Begu in their semi-final clash.
The Greek won 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-4 to reach the first final of this season. This is also the first time that Sakkari’s made it to the final in the Russian event. Her previous best result here was making it to the semis in 2020.
After her win, Sakkari said, “It was a very tough match. I think Begu played really, really well. The level of the match was super-high. I had to come up with some very tough shots and very physical tennis, but I’m very glad I did it, and I’m super excited to be in the final here.
As I mentioned on court, it’s one of my favorite tournaments, so I’m just very excited that I was able this year to reach the final. I still have one more match to go, and I’m going to try my best to win the tournament ”.
St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy: Maria Sakkari & Anett Kontaveit renew rivalry
Meanwhile, Kontaveit, Sakkari’s opponent in the final had an easier outing in her semi-final against Jelena Ostapenko. The second seed from Estonia outplayed the Latvian seventh seed 6-3, 6-4 in 71 minutes.
This was Kontaveit’s 19th win on the trot in indoor events and the first final of 2022. Post-match, Kontaveit shared, “It was a very competitive match. I really had to bring very good energy to come through on top today.
She’s a very aggressive player, so I had to be really ready for her big shots, and just be as consistent and take my chances when I could. I felt like I did that really well today. I was very positive and had good energy and worked really hard today ”.
The final of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy will be the 13th meeting between Maria Sakkari and Anett Kontaveit. Both players have won six of their 12 previous matches, with Kontaveit winning the last two – the final of the Ostrava Open and the semi-final of the WTA Finals in 2021.
