The WTA 125 circuit moved to clay courts this week, where Nadia Podoroska of Argentina and Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro picked up titles on Sunday.
At the WTA 125 San Luis Open in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, No.4 seed Podoroska stormed through the final, defeating first-time WTA 125 finalist Francesca Jones of Great Britain 6-1, 6-2 in just 67 minutes.
Podoroska, a Roland Garros semifinalist in 2020, now has two WTA 125 singles titles to her credit. She previously won the WTA 125 event in Cali, Colombia last year.
On Sunday, 78th-ranked Podoroska used flawless defense and groundstroke depth to zip through the opening set, where she won six of Jones' seven second-service points. The momentum continued as Podoroska made it all the way to 6-1, 4-1 without facing a break point.
Jones made a last-minute charge, earning her only break of the day to pull to 4-2. However, a drop shot misfire on break point in the next game gave Podoroska the double-break lead again, and the Argentine converted her third championship point in the following game.
The San Luis Potosi doubles title was won by Hungary's Anna Bondar and Slovenia's Tamara Zidansek via walkover. Laura Pigossi and Katarzyna Piter withdrew from the final due to Pigossi's left knee injury.
This is Zidansek's first career WTA 125 doubles title, and the second for Bondar.
Across the globe at the WTA 125 Megasaray Hotels Open in Antalya, Turkey, No.5 seed Bouzas Maneiro outlasted No.4 seed Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 for the first WTA 125 title of her career.
World No.127 Bouzas Maneiro battled past a clay-court expert in her 2-hour and 28-minute victory. Former Top 25 player Begu has won two WTA 250 titles and one WTA 125 title on clay in her career.
But it was the 21-year-old rising Spaniard who clinched victory, winning exactly 75 percent of her service points in the third set, and wiping away the only break point she faced in the decider. Bouzas Maneiro now finds herself very close to a potential Top 100 debut in the near future.
A closely-contested Antalya doubles final took place on Saturday, where No.3-seeded Italians Angelica Moratelli and Camilla Rosatello squeaked past No.1 seeds Timea Babos and Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 3-6, [15-13] to hoist the trophy.
In the match-tiebreak, former WTA Doubles World No.1 Babos and Zvonareva, a former Top 10 player in both singles and doubles, held three championship points. However, the Italians survived those, then converted their third championship point to win their second WTA 125 doubles title as a pairing.
