WTA Lausanne: Alize Cornet and Fiona Ferro set all-French title match
For the first time since 2009, two French players will compete in the WTA final, with Alize Cornet and Fiona Ferro scoring convincing semi-final triumphs in Lausanne. Cornet took down Tamara Korpatsch 6-3, 6-4 in an hour and 45 minutes, advancing into the 13th WTA final and seeking the first title from last year when Gstaad hosted this event. Both players had their opportunities on the return and it was Cornet who played better when it mattered the most, fending off six out of ten break points and taking almost 60% of the points on the return for seven breaks from 13 opportunities, enough to carry her over the top. The French player made a great start, delivering three straight breaks to open up a 4-1 gap, suffering a break in game six before closing the set with her fourth at 5-3.
Korpatsch bounced back at the beginning of the second set, stealing the rival's serve in the first game and fending off a break chance in the second to forge the advantage, losing it for a couple of minutes and moving back in front with a break in game five. Saving two break points that could have sent her 5-2 down, Cornet gathered the momentum and broke Tamara in games eight and ten to rattle off the last four games and seal the deal in straight sets. Earlier this season, Fiona Ferro competed in the first WTA semi-final in Lugano and Switzerland is her happy ground again, taking down Bernarda Pera 6-1, 6-4 in an hour and 29 minutes for the biggest result in a career.
Fiona controlled the pace in her games after saving both break points she faced, keeping the pressure on the American born in Croatia all the time, creating no less than 15 break chances. Pera did well to erase 12 of those but it was impossible to stay on the positive side of the scoreboard, losing the first set in just over 30 minutes and fighting better in the second. Ferro broke at the beginning of the second set and kept that lead all the time, repelling those break points in games eight and ten to cross the finish line and stay on the title course.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2xVJc4L
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