An unprecedented final: American teenager Iva Jovic to face Colombia's new No. 1 in WTA 500 final

A unique week has unfolded at the Guadalajara Open Akron, with a draw full of surprises that has led to an unexpected final. The WTA 500 Guadalajara Open will feature a matchup between 17-year-old Iva Jovic (No. 73) and Colombian Emiliana Arango (No. 86).

After the US Open, many of the tour's biggest stars decided to take a week off before heading into the Asian Swing, which features a series of upcoming tournaments. This opened up the main draw of the WTA 500 Guadalajara for other players to seize the opportunity, and Jovic and Arango both took advantage to achieve the best campaigns of their careers.

The Colombian had already provided a surprise in Mexico earlier this year, unexpectedly reaching the Mérida Open final from outside the WTA top 130, although she ended up losing by a double bagel in 55 minutes to top seed Emma Navarro. Arango has now guaranteed she will become the Colombian No. 1, surpassing Camila Osorio. In Jovic's case, at 17, she had won titles in lower-level tournaments but had never even reached the quarterfinals of a WTA-level event.

The Guadalajara tournament featured several big names on the tour, including Elise Mertens, Jelena Ostapenko, Maria Sakkari, and Veronika Kudermetova, but none of them could make a deep run. In fact, by the quarterfinals, only two of the seeds remained: Magdalena Fręch (4th) and Tatjana Maria (6th), both of whom were eliminated at that stage.

Emiliana Arango capitalized on Magda Linette's retirement in the first round and defeated opponents like Storm Sanders and Marina Stakusic in straight sets to face off with the talented Frenchwoman Elsa Jacquemot. The Colombian showed determination in the match and took her opportunity in a tight duel that was a true battle of nerves. Arango recovered from a 2-4 deficit in the first set to take a 6-4 lead, capitalizing on an erratic set from Jacquemot, who totaled nine double faults and had only 58% of her first serves in, far below Arango's 78%.

The Colombian had gained momentum from the first set and started the second with the same inspiration, winning two more games to start—a total of six games in a row. Jacquemot flirted with a potential comeback, getting the break back midway through the set and tying things up at 5-5. At that moment, Arango got the crucial break, and she then closed out her service game without any issues to secure an important 6-4, 7-5 victory, which puts her in the final—without dropping a set.

The 24-year-old is guaranteed to move up 34 spots in the ranking and will be at least world No. 53 after the tournament. Arango surpasses Camila Osorio for the first time in five years to become the Colombian No. 1 for the first time in her career, as well as the No. 2 player in Latin America, only behind Beatriz Haddad Maia.

It was a golden opportunity for two unexpected semifinalists. The 19-year-old Nikola Bartunkova (No. 228) had never played in a tournament of this category and was a surprise wildcard, making great use of her opportunity. On the way, she defeated the fourth seed Magdalena Fręch—her first top-100 victory of her young career.

The American was the one who came out to take the lead quickly, with an early break that put her up 3-0. Jovic maintained a 73% first-serve percentage in the first set, winning 79% of those points, making it very difficult for Bartunkova to keep up. The American closed out the first set 6-4 and took the lead.

In the second set, Jovic got a break to go up 4-3, needing only to hold her serve to close out the win, but the young Czech fought back, forcing a tie-break. There, Jovic squandered a two-mini-break lead (4-0), and Bartunkova pulled off a remarkable comeback that gave her the set 7-6(5).

The duel was worthy of a semifinal despite the two unknown names, and in the third set, both started with exchanged breaks. Jovic was the first to take her chance on a break in the sixth game and took the definitive lead that would lead to victory. It was a real battle for Jovic to close out the win, as she was serving at 5-3 with a chance to win. However, the surprising Bartunkova showed resilience in the final part, and in the longest game of the match, Jovic had to save four break points against her and ended up securing the victory on her third match point, winning 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3, after two hours and 51 minutes.

Bartunkova still advanced more than 80 spots in the ranking, to No. 143. On the other hand, Jovic has secured her debut in the top 50, at world No. 48. If she wins the title, she will advance to No. 36.