WTA Lugano: 17-year-old Iga Swiatek chase first title vs Polona Hercog
The Polish youngster Iga Swiatek has played the best match on the pro Tour in a career so far in Lugano, dispatching Kristyna Pliskova 6-0, 6-1 in 54 minutes and advancing into the first WTA final at the age of 17. Competing in only the third WTA main draw, Swiatek demonstrated everything from her arsenal to leave the Czech far behind, overpowering her from the baseline and mixing her game beautifully to hit 28 winners and just 13 unforced errors. Pliskova looked tired and was never on the same page with Swiatek, landing only 45% of the first serve in and dropping more than 60% of the points behind the initial shot that carried her towards the semis in the previous rounds.
On the other hand, the youngster fended off all seven break points she faced, taking the opening nine games of the encounter and sealing the deal with a double break in set number two, saving a couple of break points in the last three service games to march over the finish line. With these points, Iga will become the fourth player born in 2001 who has reached the top-100 after Amanda Anisimova, Anastasia Potapova and Olga Danilovic, seeking the first WTA title on Sunday and more of the same in the rest of the clay season. The 28-year-old Polona Hercog is through to the sixth WTA final, chasing the first title since Bastad 2012 thanks to a 7-5, 6-4 triumph over Fiona Ferro in an hour and 31 minutes.
Polona made the difference with the first serve return, converting all six break points she earned and saving four out of six she had to play against to prevail in straight sets. The Slovenian raced into a 5-2 lead with three consecutive breaks, losing serve in the eighth game and wasting three set points at 5-4 to keep Fiona in contention. Still, Hercog managed to end her downfall, winning eight of the last ten points to grab the opener 7-5. The second set was more fluid and Polona delivered four great holds, scoring the crucial break at 3-3 and bringing the match hold with two easy holds for the place in the final.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2X4exfY
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