Thrilling finish in the race for tennis final
The race to reach the final of the biggest tennis event to be staged in Shropshire this year was today boiling up to a thrilling conclusion.
Switzerland’s Stefanie Voegele and Julie Coin of France were going head-to-head in the first semi-final of the 75,000 dollars AEGON GB Pro-Series event at the Shrewsbury Club.
They were set to be followed on court by German fifth seed Annika Beck and Russia’s Marta Sirotkina, with the four remaining players all coming through tense three-set quarter-final battles yesterday.
Third seed Voegele was involved in the tightest encounter, seeing off Turkey’s Cagla Buyukakcay 9-7 in the deciding tie-break after losing the first set 7-5 and winning the second 6-1.
Coin survived a mid-match blip to defeat Russia’s Ekaterina Bychkova 7-5, 0-6, 7-5 while Beck was a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 winner over French ace Aravane Rezai.
In the other quarter-final, Sirotkna fought back from a set down to see off Holland’s Bibiane Schoofs 2-6, 7-5, 6-4.
The singles final is tomorrow but the destiny of the doubles title will be decided today with the Czech Republic’s Pliskova twins – Karolina and Kristyna – taking on the Serbian-Switzerland combination of Vesna Dolonc and Voegele.