Vondrousova ousts No. 1 Sabalenka in Berlin; faces Wang Xinyu in final
Marketa Vondrousova View Profile has recovered some grass-court magic at Berlin Tennis Open by HYLO.
Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon champion, defeated World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka View Profile 6-2, 6-4 in their semifinal meeting at Berlin on Saturday. The Czech Vondrousova needed 1 hour and 21 minutes to level their head-to-head at four wins apiece.
Berlin: Draws | Scores | Order of play
"I didn’t play for a long time," said Vondrousova, who missed three months of the season due to a shoulder injury. "I’m just happy to be back healthy, and so grateful to play these matches.
"When I saw the field here, I was like, ‘OK, let’s just try to win the first round,’ and then, you know, now this is happening."
Vondrousova is into her first final since she won the Wimbledon title nearly two years ago. Her opponent on Sunday will be a fellow unseeded player: Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu.
In the later semifinal, Wang took down 2021 Berlin champion Liudmila Samsonova View Profile 6-4, 6-1 to make her first WTA singles final. It will be the first meeting between Vondrousova and Wang.
Top win: Despite her previous successes against Sabalenka, this is the first time Vondrousova has beaten her while Sabalenka was ranked World No. 1 in the PIF WTA Rankings. In fact, it is the Czech's first career win over any reigning World No. 1.
Vondrousova had previously been 0-3 against players who were ranked No. 1 at the time of their meetings. She had lost to Ashleigh Barty at 2020 Adelaide, and fell to Iga Swiatek View Profile at both 2023 Cincinnati and 2024 Roland Garros.
Another grass-court stunner: Vondrousova had only won two tour-level matches on grass at the start of the 2023 season, but that did not stop her from peaking at that year's Wimbledon, where she carved her way to the title ranked World No. 42.
Vondrousova has struggled with injuries throughout her career, and after her latest shoulder woes, she started Berlin ranked No. 164. But this week, the Czech once again summoned her best on grass.
Match moments: Sabalenka came into Saturday's showdown 7-0 in semifinals this year, but Vondrousova was prepared to upend that stat. Taking returns early, Vondrousova raced through the opening set without losing serve.
Sabalenka found a backhand winner off of a drop shot to take an quick 2-0 lead in the second set, but Vondrousova broke back at love straight away. The Czech then found some incredible forehand winners to break for 5-4.
Serving for the match, Vondrousova quickly fell behind 0-40 and it appeared a twist was in store. But the left-hander regrouped and battled all the way back, closing out the win with her fourth ace of the day.
Vondrousova becomes the lowest-ranked Berlin finalist this decade, since the event returned to the WTA calendar as a grass-court stop in 2021. She surpasses Samsonova, who won this title as a 106th-ranked qualifier in 2021.
Berlin breakthrough for Wang: Later on Saturday, World No. 49 Wang posted the biggest singles result of her career by toppling Samsonova to make her maiden singles final on tour.
"This week has been a dream for me," Wang told Andrea Petkovic on court. "I’ve been playing unbelievable tennis here. I don’t know, it’s something with Berlin, I guess!
"Coming into this match here, coming into every match, I wasn’t expecting anything, you know. For me, it was really just to enjoy the stage."
Wang is a Grand Slam doubles champion (2023 Roland Garros with Hsieh Su-wei) and also won the Berlin doubles title last year (with Zheng Saisai), but she had gone 0-6 in her first six Hologic WTA Tour singles semifinals.
That all changed when Wang dismissed Samsonova in 76 minutes for her fourth straight Top 20 win this week. Wang beat Daria Kasatkina View Profile in the first round and Roland Garros champion Coco Gauff View Profile in the second round, then advanced past injured Paula Badosa View Profile in the quarterfinals.
