WTA Prague: Jil Teichmann overpowers Karolina Muchova for first WTA title
With the best players in the world practicing in Madrid for the next week's Mutua Open, J&T Banka Prague Open offered a chance for many lower-ranked players to go all the way and lift the WTA title, the first one for the majority of the draw! In the end, a qualifier Jil Teichmann and a home player with a wild card Karolina Muchova secured the place in the title match and it was the Swiss who prevailed 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 in two hours and 44 minutes for the most prominent result on the Tour. The 21-year-old Teichmann never reached the WTA quarter-final before this week and she managed to pass all the obstacles in Prague and become the champion, winning six points more than her rival and coming from a break down twice in the deciding set to cross the finish line first.
They both scored six breaks to push each other to the limits all the time, with the opening set lasting for almost 70 minutes! Trading four breaks in the first six games, Jil and Karolina stayed neck an neck until the 12th game when Muchova saved three set points to set up a tie break that Teichmann claimed 7-5, converting the sixth set point and moving closer to the finish line. Karolina bounced back in set number two, breaking her rival in games two and six and sealing the deal after saving a break point at 5-3, introducing the deciding set where she was in front twice at 2-0 and 3-2.
Nonetheless, Teichmann kept battling and was back on the positive side of the scoreboard after a great return game in game six, delivering two holds at love and starting a huge celebration after breaking Muchova in the last game of the match. Jil is the 20th WTA champion from 21 tournaments in 2019, extending that amazing streak of wide-open events that should slow down a little bit in Madrid and Rome in the following weeks.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2vCzkeT
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