No.8 seed Olga Danilovic of Serbia emerged as the champion at the WTA 125 Nordea Open in Bastad, Sweden, outlasting No.1 seed Emma Navarro 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3 in Saturday's singles final.
Currently ranked No.94, 22-year-old Danilovic took two-and-a-half hours to squeak past 55th-ranked Navarro of the United States. Danilovic captured her first title at WTA 125 level with the victory.
"This was a very, very, very tough match," Danilovic said, after her win. "Obviously the toughest in the week. She's a great player, her ranking says a lot. From the first point, I think, until the last was so tough.
"I'm very happy I managed, after the second set, to come back. I obviously felt a bit tired because it's been a tough week, but I was able to [make] a last push for me, and I gave my all, and it paid off."
A new fan favorite is born💙#nordeaopen #båstad #wta #tennis pic.twitter.com/n9TZPBmndf
— Nordea Open (@NordeaOpen) July 15, 2023
The event brought Danilovic her biggest title since she defeated Anastasia Potapova to win her first Hologic WTA Tour singles title at the 2018 Moscow River Cup. Danilovic claimed that WTA 250 title as a 17-year-old lucky loser.
This week, Danilovic had to battle through three-setters in three of her five matches on her way to the title. She dropped her first set of the tournament 6-0 and suffered another bagel set in the semifinals, but those did not deter her from taking the crown.
Nordeas shot of the day is just clay tennis at its best from our champion💙#nordeaopen #nordea pic.twitter.com/ZY4kMNSngG
— Nordea Open (@NordeaOpen) July 15, 2023
On Saturday, only the first point of the 13 points in the opening-set tiebreak went to the server, and that was Danilovic, who utilized that advantage to lead by one set. However, top-seeded Navarro used well-timed return winners to build a 5-1 lead in the second set, en route to leveling the match.
Powerful shots down the lines helped Danilovic take an early lead in the third set, and the Serb garnered a crucial break for 5-3, earning a chance to serve for the title. Danilovic boldly held at love to wrap up the victory and hoist the trophy.
Båstad and #nordeaopen Doubles Champions Irina Khromacheva & Panna Udvardy. Check out the winners interview here 👇 Ping @WTA pic.twitter.com/uQ0fTNyqSb
— Nordea Open (@NordeaOpen) July 15, 2023
Earlier on Saturday, the doubles title was won by No.4 seeds Irina Khromacheva and Panna Udvardy, who edged No.3 seeds Eri Hozumi and Jang Su-jeong 4-6, 6-3, [10-5].
In their first tournament as a team, Khromacheva and Udvardy eked out the win after 1 hour and 33 minutes. It is the second career WTA 125 doubles title for both Khromacheva and Udvardy.
"Every match, we played a bit better," Khromacheva said after the final. "I'm happy that today we performed the best we could to win, because they're really tough opponents."
"All week we were helping each other," Udvardy added. "We were very positive, which always helps, and on the court, I think our game is clicking as well. In terms of game plan, obviously Irina is really good at the net, and I can help her from the back, and vice versa."