Lauren Davis and Elisabetta Cocciaretto will take on each other in the Hobart International final on Saturday. On Friday, both won their respective semi-final matches.
Davis defeated Anna Blinkova 6-3, 6-3 in an hour and 31 minutes. Davis put in only 48% of her first serves but won 83% of her first-serve points to Blinkova’s 57%. The latter was also impaired by the eight double faults she hit throughout the match. Davis also won 65% of her second-serve points and 58% points on return on her opponent’s second serve.
Davis converted four of the nine break points that came her way on Blinkova’s serve while saving two of the three break points she faced.
This is the first time Davis’ made it to the final since she reached the 2017 Auckland Open final. That year, she won her first – and as yet, only – WTA singles title.
Hobart International: A career first for Elisabetta Cocciaretto
Davis’ opponent in the final, Cocciaretto, meanwhile reached the maiden final of her career as she defeated Sofia Kenin, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 after more than two hours of play.
Cocciaretto fended off a set point in the opening set en route to taking the lead in the match. In the second set, she wasn’t able to hold on to a break she’d secured. The deciding set, however, went firmly in the Italian’s favour.
Post-match, Cocciaretto said, “It’s unbelievable for me to be here in the final of such a great tournament, and I’m really happy about my performance today. (Kenin is) a very good player, I was a junior when she won the Grand Slam, so for me it’s an honor to play against her. The first set, I took the chance to win the set, and then the second set, she was more focused, she was more aggressive than me. I think that’s why she won the second. Then I tried to change my game a little bit in the third, and it was really tough, but I’m happy about my win.”
Heading into the Hobart International finale, Elisabetta Cocciaretto will take a 1-0 win-to-loss lead against Lauren Davis. Cocciaretto had defeated Davis in the quarter-finals of the 2021 Abierto Zapopan in Guadalajara.
Photo Credit: Hobart International Twitter