Emma Radukanu defeated Oleksandra Olnikova in a “brutal” three-set semi-final at the Transylvania Open to reach her first final since winning the 2021 US Open.
The British No. 1, playing in his fifth tour-level semi-final of his career, won the first set 7-5 before his Ukrainian opponent won the second set 6-3.
But Raducanu recovered from losing serve early in the deciding third and won four of the next five games to take the set 6-3 and secure a spot in Saturday’s highlight, the WTA250 tournament in Cluj, Romania. She is the No. 1 seed.
Trailing 5-2 after the third match, Raducanu tried to end the match on Olnikova’s serve on her first try, wasting three match points before her opponent took a 15-40 lead on the Briton’s serve.
However, Raducanu held his serve until the end and made two well-placed drop shots to take the match and lead him to victory.
She will face third seed Sorana Cirstea of Romania in Saturday’s final, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Tennis from 2.30pm.
“It was a brutal match,” Raducanu said of her nearly three-hour match with Olnikova.
“Oli, my God, she’s such a competitor. She scores a lot of balls, makes a lot of tricky balls, and when you think she’s leading by a point, she comes back with a really awkward shot.
“But to her credit, she competed when I was leading in the second set. I’m most proud of the way I fought, and I competed with myself and came back in that third set.”
“The ball here is really fluffy and it feels like it’s being shredded by the court. So it just gets heavier as the ball gets older, but when it’s new it’s pretty active,” said Raducanu, who took a physio timeout in the first set to focus attention on his right shoulder.
“I’m not used to playing four games in a row, so for me it’s incredible and I think that’s expected. But you’re not in this position very often. So when you play back-to-back in the format of tennis, it just causes a little bit of wear and tear.”
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Jonathan Overend believes that if Emma Raducanu can find the right balance with the right coach, she could have a great year of tennis.
‘Really emotional feeling’ Raducanu makes long-awaited final return
Just a week after parting ways with his latest coach, Francis Roig, following a second-round loss at the Australian Open, Raducanu won four matches in five days in Cluj, dropping just one set.
“It’s a really emotional feeling,” said Raducanu, who has finally reached the finals for the first time since qualifying for the U.S. Open at the age of 18.
“We haven’t been to the finals in five years, so it’s a great result.
“I just want to thank Alexis[Canter]for what I put out this week and for being here with me and the great job I’ve done over the last six months and the last year.
“It’s all coming together, so yeah, I’m really proud.
“My only focus right now is trying to recover from that marathon.”
She added: “I think a lot of it is just recovering physically and being in the best shape possible.
“It would be incredible for the tournament that Sarana is Romanian.”
Bolter advances to the final for the fifth time in his career with an overwhelming victory
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Highlights of Ostrava Open semi-finals, Katie Volinets vs. Katie Boulter.
British number two Katie Boulter produced another quality performance to reach the Ostrava Open final for the fifth time in her career, defeating American Katie Volinets 6-1, 6-3 and winning her third consecutive set.
Boulter will face world No. 124 Tamara Kolpacz in the final on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Raducanu will also play in Saturday’s final in Romania, marking the first time two British women will be competing in different WTA finals on the same day.
Boulter raced to a one-set lead in just over 30 minutes, but even Volinets’ much improved performance in the second set couldn’t stop the in-form Brit.
“I’m never satisfied, but obviously I’m really happy with today,” Boulter said after the game. “She really stepped up in the second set and I tried to match it as much as I could and just kept believing in myself no matter what and it paid off in the end.
“The break could have easily changed the momentum, but I didn’t allow it.”
Boulter was in good spirits, even wishing his coach Michael Joyce a happy birthday and promising him a much-needed gift.
“It’s been a great week for me. Tomorrow is Mickey (Joyce)’s birthday so I’m going to get him a present – a trophy!”
“I’m going to leave everything to you.”
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