From breakthroughs to final triumphs: The recent best of Bogota

Welcome to Clay Chronicles, where wtatennis.com will take a look back at some of the most memorable matches from the clay seasons of the past five years. In this installment, we'll take a look back at five notable matches at the Copa Colsanitas presentado por Claro in the Colombian capital of Bogota with breakthrough victories, maiden titles and resurgent moments. 

Teliana Pereira def. (1) Elina Svitolina (7-6(7), 6-3, 2015 semifinal)

En route to making recent history for her country at the 2015 tournament, Brazil's Teliana Pereira earned one of her biggest wins.

Unseeded, Pereira had already scored an upset en route to her first appearance in a WTA semifinal, beating No.4 seed Francesca Schiavone in the opening round, as neither player lost a set in the first three rounds.

In an opening set that did not see a break of serve, Pereira rallied from 5-2 down in the tiebreak to take a one-set lead, and held off the top seed's comeback effort down the stretch to seal a place in her first WTA final. 

The victory over Svitolina, who was then ranked World No.27, is the Brazilian's best win in terms of ranking to date. She also earned a win over Sorana Cirstea, also ranked World No.27, at the 2014 Volvo Car Open.

With a 7-6(2), 6-1 victory over Yaroslava Shvedova in the final, Pereira became the first Brazilian to win a WTA singles title since Niege Dias won in Barcelona in 1988.

She reached a career-high ranking of World No.48 later in 2015, after winning her second WTA title in Florianopolis on home soil in Brazil.

Irina Falconi def. Silvia Soler Espinosa (6-2, 2-6, 6-4, 2016 final)

Just 12 months after Pereira won her maiden singles title, American Irina Falconi followed suit. 

A native of Ecuador who moved to the United States as a toddler, Falconi had already found success in the Colombian capital, having reached the doubles final with compatriot Shelby Rogers in 2015.

Arriving in Bogotá in 2016 seeded No.5, at a world ranking of No.91, she didn't lose a set across the first three rounds, but battled to a pair of three-set victories over two Spaniards en route to winning the event.

A 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 victory over former champion and No.4 seed Lara Arruabarrena earned Falconi a place in her first-ever WTA singles final, and a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 win over Silvia Soler Espinosa earned her the trophy.

In a dramatic deciding set, Falconi came from a break down to seal victory, winning the last three games after trailing 4-3. 

(WC) Francesca Schiavone def. (1) Kiki Bertens (6-1, 6-4, 2017 quarterfinal)

2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone won the eighth and final title of her storied career at the 2017 edition of the Bogota tournament, and needed to show some of her vintage best to do it.

Ranked World No.168 and a wildcard into the event, the Italian nonetheless beat four seeded players en route to taking home the trophy, including top seed and then-World No.20 Kiki Bertens.

The Dutch No.1 had showed glimpses of the form that's earned her her current status as a Top 10 stalwart at the previous year's French Open, where she reached her first Grand Slam semifinal while ranked World No.58. 

Despite nearly 150 places between them in the rankings at the time, Schiavone won nine of the first 11 games and earned an eye-popping victory in just under 80 minutes, in what was also the last Top 20 victory for her in her career.

The dominant quarterfinal was a microcosm of Italian's week in all: she did not drop a set in five matches, and also beat No.6 seed Patricia Maria Tig in the first round, No.3 seed Johanna Larsson in the semifinals and No.4 seed Lara Arruabarrena in the final.

Kristie Ahn def. Jelena Ostapenko (2-6, 7-6(5), 7-5, 2019 first round)

Before she had a Cinderella run to the last 16 at the US Open in 2019, and became the resident queen of TikTok in 2020, American Kristie Ahn had one of the defining wins of her career over a former Grand Slam champion last spring.

After losing in the final round of qualifying, Ahn earned a second chance at the main draw in Bogota as a lucky loser and made the most of it, coming from a set and a break down to earn a dramatic victory over top seed and 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.

The Stanford graduate, ranked World No.205, was two points from defeat in the second-set tiebreak, as Ostapenko rallied from a 5-1 deficit in the breaker to level at 5-5. 

Read the match report: Ahn survives match points to overcome Ostapenko in Bogota shocker

After sending the match to a decider, Ahn sealed another escape, as she saved two match points as the Latvian served for victory, and won the last three games to earn the upset in just over two-and-a-half hours.

By beating the then-World No.29, Ahn scored what was then her best win in terms of ranking, which she topped later in the year with a win over then-World No.20 Elise Mertens in San Jose. 

Ahn also went on to beat Ostapenko once more later in the summer, sealing a more straightforward 6-3, 7-5 victory in the third round in Flushing Meadows.

Amanda Anisimova def. Maria Camila Osorio Serrano (6-2, 1-6, 6-3, 2019 quarterfinal)

En route to becoming the teen queen of Colombia last year, Amanda Anisimova needed to overcome an inspired effort by a home favorite in the last eight. 

Her challenger was fellow 17-year-old Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, the eventual US Open junior champion last summer, who earned her first two WTA wins by beating Switzerland's Conny Perrin and Ahn to reach the last eight as a wildcard.

And despite more than 350 places between them in the rankings, then-World No.438 Osorio Serrano stayed competitive with Anisimova for nearly two hours in front of a partisan home crowd over the course of three sets.

Read the match report: Anisimova outlasts Osorio Serrano in teenage Bogota battle

A crucial moment came in the eighth game of the third set, as the American dug out of a 0-40 hole to hold serve for 5-3 to ultimately book her spot in the semifinals -- on the way to her first WTA singles title.