American teenager Ashlyn Krueger pulled off a third-set comeback en route to winning her first career WTA 125 title at the grass-court Veneto Open on Sunday.
Unseeded Krueger upset No.1 seed Tatjana Maria of Germany 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 in just under two hours to prevail in the final in Gaiba, Italy. World No.143 Krueger was down 5-2 in the third set before reeling off the last five games of the match.
“I've never played in such an atmosphere before; the crowd supported me a lot during the final and I'm grateful for that," Krueger said afterwards. "I knew I was up against a very difficult opponent who plays her best tennis on grass, but I accepted that I had to play outside my comfort zone. I did and it worked. I'm proud of how I managed to turn the match to my side.
"I’m satisfied by my whole game: serve, return, volleys, I've played a really good match. This tournament gives me a lot of confidence and I’m looking forward to go to Wimbledon in two days to play qualies."
The players had nearly identical first-service stats in Sunday's decisive third set, but Krueger was stronger behind her second serve in the decider, winning 50 percent of those points. Maria, ranked No.66 and a Wimbledon semifinalist last year, won 38 percent of her second-serve points in the third set.
"Today was the most complicated match of the tournament," Krueger said. "Tatjana is a very tricky opponent, very smart, she makes you feel uncomfortable.
"With this tournament, I'll come close to the Top 100, and this means the world to me. This year has been really tough, but I'm very glad to be close to breaking the Top 100 mark. This victory is for my family and for everyone who supports me."
The 19-year-old American has now added another strong result to her breakthrough grass-court swing this summer. Last week, Krueger made her first WTA Tour-level quarterfinal with an upset of former World No.1 Victoria Azarenka on the grass of 's-Hertogenbosch.
The Veneto Open doubles final was contested on Saturday, where the Korean pair of Han Na-Lae and Jang Su Jeong squeaked past the Polish duo of Weronika Falkowska and Katarzyna Piter 6-3, 3-6, [10-6] to clinch the title.
In the championship showdown between two unseeded teams, Han and Jang collected four of the last five points during the match-tiebreak in their 75-minute win over Falkowska and Piter.
It is the second WTA 125 doubles title for Han, who also triumphed on home soil at 2021 Seoul alongside compatriot Choi Ji-hee. This is Jang's first WTA 125 doubles title, to go with the WTA 125 singles title she won last year in Bastad.
