Paolini defeats Risk to win his first WTA singles title in Portoroz

Top tour Yasmin Paolini ended with a victory over Zavarovalnica Sava Portoroz on Sunday, as the 25-year-old Italian won her first WTA singles title.

Paolini is currently ranked 87th in the world rankings, beating No. 3 in the American series Alison Riske 7-6 (4) and 6-2 in the final, returning from a double-break in the first. identified in this process.

In her first WTA singles final, Paolini pierced the long opening frame before dropping the second set to win the world number one. 38 Risk will be claimed after 1 hour and 45 minutes of play.

“I think it’s been a great week here in Portoroz,” Paolini said after the match. “I feel very lucky, it is a huge achievement for me to win my first title. It is special on the hard court.”

Paolini sent four seeded players to the event, including sixth seed Diana Yastremska in the opening round, fourth seed Sorana Kirstya in the quarter-finals and second-seeded Yulia Putintseva in the semi-finals. The Italian has defeated three of the top 50 players in a row in her last three matches this week.

“It wasn’t easy to get to the final,” Paolini said. “I’m proud of myself for never giving up.”

Riske, a former WTA Top 20 player, was unable to turn her big opening set lead into a new title, dropping to 2-8 in the WTA singles final during her career.

Paolini had only two winners over Risk in the standoff, but the main difference was in the number of non-force fouls, with Risk outperforming Paolini by 44 to 33. Paolini won exactly two-thirds of Risk’s service points, enabling her to convert six. of its points. She has 10 break points a day.

Due to the constant rain, the match started almost three hours late, but once the players entered the field, the stakes initially had the upper hand. The American lost the 5-2 lead at the crucial moments with the help of some great backhands.

However, Riske fell in love when he sent the group into that match, but faltered again at 5-4 and failed to hit legend Paolini. The Italian rushed across the field, extended the run until she was able to find great winners and the group was reduced to the tiebreak.

At the end of the first half, Paolini led 5-2 with a 5-4 score, but a long-term foul by Risk gave the Italian two set points at 6-4. Another big rally took place there, as Paolini chased all of Riske’s shots until eventually sending the American over his head after more than an hour of play.

“I think I might have been a little more relaxed,” Paolini said of the band’s first comeback. “I understood more about the game. I tried to change the rhythm of the match with the high balls, and I think that is the key.”

The second set was more straightforward for Paolini as she broke 3-2 with a divine win with a forehand on the line. Paolini eventually made it out of the case’s last five matches, ending the tournament with a sloppy forehand.

“I’ve been working really hard for the past two months,” Paolini said. “I understood more of my game, I think. I just want to maintain that level for the whole season which is almost over, stay strong and keep that level.”

Just before it rained, the Zavarovalnica Sava Portoroz doubles final was completed, with Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya and Teresa Mihalikova beating second seed, Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia and Leslie Patinama Kerkhove of the Netherlands, 4-6, 6-2, [12-10].

The one hour and 37 minute standoff turned into a reverse run, with Kalinskaya and Mihalikova leading 9-4 and five championship points.

With a six-point winning streak, Krunic and Patinama Kerkov held their championship point 10-9, before Kalinskaya and Mihalikova got back on track to capture the final three points of the mile and claim a light win.

The win made Mihalikova the first WTA title in her career. Kalinskaya has now won two WTA titles, with her debut in Prague in 2019 alongside Victoria Kuzmova.