Tomljanovic reaches first WTA final in five years

Final bound: Ajla Tomljanovic celebrates her win over Anastasia Potapova
AFP

Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic reached her first WTA final in five years on Saturday with a straight sets win over Russia’s Anastasia Potapova at the Birmingham grass-court tournament.

The former world number 32, now ranked 190, came through against the seventh seed 7-6 (7/5), 6-4.

In Sunday’s final, Tomljanovic will face fellow unseeded player Yulia Putintseva after the Kazakh eased to a 6-2, 6-2 win over Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto.

“I just tried to keep a cool head. I felt like I was a bit too into it at the beginning, and I felt like I was losing a lot of energy just caring about every single point,” Tomljanovic said.

“I just tried to let go whatever happened, and focus on what I can control.”

Tomljanovic last reached a WTA final in 2019 on hard courts in Hua Hin, Thailand.

The 31-year-old missed much of the 2023 season due to knee surgery and is bidding for her first title in her 180th WTA main draw.

Authored by Afp via Breitbart June 22nd 2024