Cocciaretto saves match point in Lausanne semis; faces Burel in final

No.2 seed Elisabetta Cocciaretto
Cocciaretto, the World No.42 and top-ranked Italian, saved a match point at 6-5 in the second-set tiebreak en route to prevailing after 3 hours and 34 minutes of play -- and a nearly equal amount of time spent waiting out three separate rain delays.
"It was maybe the craziest match of my life, for the rain, for the match point, for everything," Cocciaretto said after her win. "I came here without expectations, just to play matches, and I am in the final. So I will play another match and I am grateful for that."
Photo Gallery: Great Escapes 2023: Winning from match point down
Cocciaretto is the first player to win three tour-level matches from match point down during the 2023 season. She has done it twice this week alone, having also saved match point against Celine Naef
With the grueling victory, Cocciaretto matches her career-best showing at a Hologic WTA Tour event. She reached her first singles final at Hobart in January, where she finished runner-up to Lauren Davis
BUREL RENVERSE PARRY POUR SE QUALIFIER POUR SA DEUXIÈME FINALE WTA ! (la deuxième à Lauzanne après 2021 🏆🇨🇭)#LadiesOpenLausanne @clara_burel pic.twitter.com/nUJH4fo5kV
— FFT (@FFTennis) July 29, 2023
Cocciaretto's opponent in Sunday's championship match will be former Lausanne finalist Clara Burel
In a battle between rising French players who were each ranked World No.1 on the junior circuit, it was 22-year-old Burel who got the better of 20-year-old Parry in 2 hours and 28 minutes. Burel now leads Parry 2-0 at Hologic WTA Tour-level.
Burel reached her first career WTA singles final at this very event two years ago, finishing as runner-up to Tamara Zidansek
On Saturday, Burel executed some stellar net-rushing putaways down the stretch of the second set to level the match at one set apiece. Parry narrowed a third-set deficit from 5-1 to 5-3 before Burel broke serve to close out the win.
Cocciaretto defeated Burel 6-2, 6-4 in their only previous meeting, which came on clay at WTA 125 Makarska last season.