Slovenians Erjavec, Juvan soar to WTA 125 titles; Selekhmeteva wins too

A pair of Slovenians entered the winner's circle at WTA 125 level last week as Veronika Erjavec and Kaja Juvan were crowned champions at the International Women's Tennis Huzhou Open and Zavarovalnica Sava Ljubljana, respectively. 

Third seed Erjavec won her second WTA 125 of the season without losing a set in Huzhou -- and in fact only dropped more than four games in one of her five matches. She was at her most dominant in the last two rounds: a 6-2, 6-0 win over Anastasia Gasanova in the semifinals, and a 6-2, 6-1 win over No. 9 seed Alina Chareeva in the final. 

One of five players to win more than one WTA 125 title this season, the 25-year-old reaches a new career-high of No. 99 in the PIF WTA Rankings this week as a result. 

Back home in Ljubljana, Erjavec's compatriot Juvan also had an uncomplicated title run, never dropping more than four games in any of the 10 sets she played. This time last year, the 24-year-old former World No. 58 was taking an extended break from tennis -- but after finishing as runner-up to Naomi Osaka in her first WTA 125 final in Saint-Malo in May, a 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 1 seed Simona Waltert earned her a first crown.

"This week has been truly special," she wrote on social media afterwards. "Playing at home and feeling all your support gave me so much strength. Holding this trophy here means more than I can say."

Also winning on the WTA 125 circuit last week was Oksana Selekhmeteva, who triumphed over Dutchwoman Anouk Koevermans 6-0, 6-4 at the Open Internacional de San Sebastián in Spain.

The unseeded 22-year-old had reached the quarterfinals or better at five previous WTA 125 events this season, and was runner-up in Rome in July. But she took the next step in San Sebastián, in what was a draw of opportunity. Just two of the Top 8 seeds reached the quarterfinals, and No. 1 seed Mayar Sherif -- winner of eight clay-court WTA 125 titles -- was upset in the second round by qualifier Tamara Korpatsch. Selekhmeteva eventually defeated Korpatsch in the semifinals.