Bernarda Pera won the 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix title on Sunday after beating Alexandra Krunic. The American needed an hour and 27 minutes to post a 6-3, 6-3 win. Both Pera and Krunic were the only two players in the draw who were to concede a set with the former maintaining her form, right up to the title match.
Pera hit three more winners than the Serbian’s 18. The latter’s game was also undone by the 37 unforced errors she hit throughout the match. Pera went on to save five of the six break points she faced while securing four breaks on Krunic’s serve.
Hungarian Grand Prix: Budapest’s Bernarda Pera’s title-breaking ground
After the win, Pera shared, “It’s still so overwhelming. I’m still a little bit shocked how it turned out, but I felt I played some good tennis and I’m so excited for the win.” The 27-year-old also credited her opponent for posting a tough fight despite the straightforward-looking score.
“(Krunic) pushed me to play a great match. She’s a great player and she’s been feeling great, I think, this last week as well. From the outside it looked easy, but from the inside, it wasn’t that easy. She hits fast also, so I had to be quick on my feet and had to take control of the points early. I was happy I was able to do that,” she said.
Pera who was ranked 130th and needed to play the qualifiers in the Hungarian Grand Prix before making it to the main draw, re-entered the top 100 of the WTA rankings on Monday, 18th July in 81st place. Her previous career-high is no. 59 which she reached in 2020. Aleksandra Krunic also made a return to the top 100 after making the trip to the final this past week and is now ranked 75th in the world.
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