Beatriz Haddad Maia and Alison Riske will contest the final of the Nottingham Open on Sunday. Earlier on Saturday, the Brazilian and American won their respective semi-finals.
Haddad Maiaās semi-final match ended with the retirement of Tereza Martincova who was dealing with an injury to her right knee. The seventh seed was leading the Czech 6-3, 4-1 after 71 minutes of play when the latter decided to stop playing.
After her match, the southpaw expressed her thoughts on the outcome of the match and mentioned, āUnfortunately, it is not the way I wanted to win. But I think I deserve to be here (in the final). Iām working very hard in all my matches. I think I gave everything, I left everything on the court, and Iām very happy to be in my first grass WTA final.ā
Nottingham Open: Alison Riske finds her groove on grass
Haddad Maiaās opponent in the final, the sixth-seeded Riske needed three sets to quell her rival, Viktorija Golubic in their semi-final clash. Riske eventually posted a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win after almost two-and-a-half hours of play.
The Swiss won a higher margin of points off her first serves ā 65% to Riskeās 59% but struggled on her second serves as compared to her rival. Riske won 50% of her second-serve points to Golubicās 26%. Riske also saved nine of the 14 break points she faced while converting seven of the 12 break points on Golubicās serve.
Speaking about the result, Riske said, ā(Golubic) is extremely tough to play out here, especially in these conditions. It was a really challenging day, and honestly, it was a huge win for me just personally because it really took a lot from me to get over the hump today. Iām extremely proud of my effort.ā
The Nottingham Open final will be the first meeting between Beatriz Haddad Maia and Alison Riske. While the formerās looking to win the first title of her career, the latterās seeking the fourth.