Anett Kontaveit on Sunday said that greater self-belief was the foundation for her victory over Romania’s Simona Halep in the final of the Transylvania Open, which secured the eighth and final spot in the WTA Finals for the Estonian.
The 25-year-old captured her fourth title of the season with the 6-2, 6-3 victory over Halep in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, also ensuring she would move into the top 10 in the world rankings for the first time at No. 8.
“I’m still unsure of what’s going on,” Kontaveit told reporters. “I’m incredibly happy that I managed to play really well today and win the final. That was the main focus and I’m really, really proud of myself that I managed to do that. I believe in myself a little bit more than I did a couple years ago, and I was trying to be aggressive, but also stay consistent and not go for too much.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
Kontaveit’s 26th victory in her past 28 matches helped her edge Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur for the remaining spot at the season-ending WTA Finals in Guadalajara.
“So sorry Ons that I had to do this to you,” Kontaveit said on court after her first career win over former world No. 1 Halep. “I’m really looking forward to next year, hopefully we can both make it.”
Jabeur congratulated Kontaveit on Twitter and posted an image where she was playfully strangling the Estonian with the caption: “Meanwhile in my head,” after losing out on a WTA Finals spot.
In a separate posting, she said: “Apology accepted, but see you in Guadalajara. I will be going as an alternate.”
The WTA Finals are taking place in Mexico from Wednesday next week to Nov. 17, having been relocated from Shenzhen because of travel restrictions in China caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
World No. 1 Ash Barty has decided not to take part. Kontaveit is joining Aryna Sabalenka, Barbora Krejcikova, Karolina Pliskova, Maria Sakkari, Iga Swiatek, Garbine Muguruza and Paula Badosa.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
RSS