Citi Open: Final Preview

College Park, MD – The final of the inaugural Citi Open championships in Maryland will feature the top two seeds in the tournament, Israel’s Shahar Peer and Russia’s Nadia Petrova. The final is going to be an uphill battle for Peer, who hasn’t won a match against veteran Petrova in five attempts.

Both players rallied to win their semifinal matches at the Citi Open after dropping the first set. Top seed Peer, who has become Israel’s highest ranked player ever (male or female) at No. 11, took down Austria’s Tamira Paszek in the day’s first semifinal match 3-6, 7-6, 6-4.

Peer, who likened the heat and humidity in Maryland to that of her native Israel, looked strong and moved well against Paszek. The match against Peer was the 20-year-old Austrian’s third three-setter of the tournament. Paszek defeated Canadian Stephanie Dubois 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(2) in three hours, 42 minutes – the second longest WTA match this year.

© Kelyn Soong

Second seed Petrova entered the tournament as a wildcard, and did not drop a set until the semifinal match against 21-year-old Falconi. The towering Russian committed several unforced errors in the first set and failed to trade ground strokes with Falconi. Despite a slow start against the up-and-coming American, Petrova won it 1-6, 6-1, 6-3.

“My concentration was not there, my reaction was not there,” explained Petrova, who was once ranked No. 3 in the world, and now ranked No. 32. “I felt like I was always half-a-second late. In the first set, I couldn’t even see or get one of her drop shots. I knew I had to start moving and be more light on my feet and to get into a groove. Breaking her in the second set right away helped a lot. I picked up my confidence and my game and just played solid until the end.”

However, Petrova gave credit to the young American, who had played the tournament of her career.

“She had been playing well that whole match,” said Petrova about Falconi. She had a good tournament, but I felt like I was a bit fitter and stronger at the end. I felt like I had more legs than she did.”

© Kelyn Soong

Petrova has not played Peer since 2009, when she beat her on the hard courts in Los Angeles in the second round. Peer, who is currently ranked at No. 24, has struggled with her game this year, losing in four consecutive first rounds, before finding her game in Maryland. The Israeli credits changes she made to her game as well as her coaching staff.

“[I’ve changed coaches], that’s the main thing,” she said. “But I’m also trying to be more aggressive and also more consistent. I improved my serve a lot. I get a lot of free points, my first serve looks much better and even the second serve is not that attackable.”

“A title here would mean a lot. It would be very emotional,” Peer added.

As for Petrova, a win in the final would mark her 10^th WTA Tour title. “I would be very happy,” she said. “Finally to get my 10^th title. I’ve been in a few finals and haven’t been able to win a tournament in the last couple of years. It would be a happy moment for me.”

Nadia Petrova’s Road to the Final:

R32: def. [Q] Alexandra Mueller 6-2, 6-2
R16: def. [WC] Eugenie Bouchard 6-2, 6-2
QF: def. [5] Bojana Jovanovski 7-6(4), 7-5
SF: def. Irina Falconi 1-6, 6-1, 6-3

Shahar Peer’s Road to the Final:

R32: def. [Q] Ryoko Fuda 6-4, 6-2
R16: def. Alla Kudryavtseva 6-1, 6-4
QF: def. [8] Alberta Brianti 6-1, 6-2
SF: def. [3] Tamira Paszek 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-4

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Kelyn Soong is a freelance tennis writer and photographer. His work has appeared in Voice of America, USTA/Mid-Atlantic, USTA/Maryland, the Mid-Atlantic Match Point Magazine, SB Nation, and tennisgrandstand.com. To view his work, visit his website at: http://kelynsoong.blogspot.com.