Veronika Kudermetova d. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-6(6) 6-7(2) 6-3 in Tokyo After more than 3 hours & 20 minutes of big hitting, Veronika is into her 2nd final of 2023. Quite a battle from both women.
Kudermetova emerges victorious after intense battle with Pavlyuchenkova and earns final spot at Pan Pacific Open
WTASaturday, 30 September 2023 at 08:35
Veronika
Kudermetova defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-6(6), 6-7(2), 6-3 to advance to the
final of the WTA 500 Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan.
Kudermetova,
ranked 19th, came into the match with confidence after defeating the first seed
Iga Swiatek (2nd) in the quarterfinals in a three-set battle. Swiatek had
previously held a 4-0 head-to-head advantage over Kudermetova, losing only 10
games in their eight previous sets played, but this time it was the Russian who
prevailed.
Since the
return of hardcourt tournaments (following Wimbledon), Kudermetova had
experienced inconsistent form, with just two wins in seven matches. She was
seeking the opportunity to play in the seventh final of her career.
Ranked 86th
in the world, Pavlyuchenkova had defeated Donna Vekic (20th), Linda Noskova
(44th), and Ekaterina Aleksandrova (21st) on her way to the semifinals, marking
her first appearance in the semifinals of a tournament since losing in the 2021
French Open final to Barbora Krejcikova.
Both
players held their serves without major issues in the early part of the first
set, with Pavlyuchenkova breaking in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead.
However, Kudermetova quickly responded with a break of her own and leveled the
score at 4-4.
Pavlyuchenkova
had five set points with Kudermetova serving at 5-4, but Kudermetova managed to
extend the set and eventually won it in a tie-break, 7-6(6), after 78 minutes.
The second
set saw both players holding their serves, but Pavlyuchenkova took a 3-1 lead
with a break. Despite Pavlyuchenkova appearing to have control on her serve,
Kudermetova broke back, winning three consecutive games to go up 5-4.
After that,
both players held their serves and reached the second tie-break. In the
decisive tie-break, Pavlyuchenkova was more effective with her forehand and won
it 7-2.
The third
set was a nerve-wracking battle in which Pavlyuchenkova held a 3-2 lead.
However, Kudermetova won the next four games in a row, including two breaks,
and ultimately took the match 7-6(6), 6-7(2), 6-3
Despite the
loss, Pavlyuchenkova leaves the tournament with a positive outlook on her
improved WTA ranking and will be ranked 62nd in the world starting next week.
The Russian had been outside the top 700 just six months ago and has shown that
at 32 years old, she can still compete at a high level.
In the
final, Kudermetova will face the winner of the match between the second seed
Jessica Pegula (4th) and the fourth seed Maria Sakkari (6th). Kudermetova has
one career title, which she won at the 2021 Charleston Open, and has reached
four consecutive finals since then.
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