Defending champion Tatjana Maria and first-time WTA finalist Peyton Stearns booked their spots in Sunday's Copa Colsanitas final after they both won rain-plagued semifinals on Saturday.
No.2 seed Maria ended the breakthrough showing by Francesca Jones, winning 6-3, 6-4 in the day's first semifinal. Germany's Maria won their first meeting after 95 minutes of play, broken up by a three-and-a-half-hour rain delay in the second set.
Maria has now won nine consecutive main-draw matches at the Copa Colsanitas over the last two years. Including the two qualifying wins she notched to make last year's main draw, Maria has won 11 straight matches overall in Bogota.
Great Britain's Jones got into this year's main draw on a protected ranking following a year off tour due to various injuries, including her elbow, shoulder and foot. Jones made the most of her opportunity, reaching her first career WTA quarterfinal and semifinal this week.
At World No.817, Jones became the lowest-ranked tour-level semifinalist since unranked Patricia Maria Tig made the 2019 Bucharest final after maternity leave.
🇩🇪🇩🇪🇩🇪🇩🇪🇩🇪🇩🇪🇩🇪🇩🇪🇩🇪🇩🇪
— Copa Colsanitas (@CopaColsanitas_) April 8, 2023
Tatjana Maria es la primera jugadora en 5 años capaz de llegar a la final en ediciones seguidas de la Copa Colsanitas
📌 La última: Lara Arruabarrena 🇪🇸 (2017-2018) #CopaColsanitas pic.twitter.com/YMGA6MVsKn
But on Saturday, Maria used her inventory of deft slices to build a 5-0 lead in the opening set. Jones started firing on her sturdy forehand and won three straight games, but Maria found a forehand winner in the corner to hold for the one-set lead.
Jones continued to find fierce forehand winners up to a 4-3 lead in the second set, when the rain came and stopped play for three-and-a-half hours. Upon their return, Maria recovered her best Bogota form, carving her way to three straight games and the victory.
Last year's surprise Wimbledon semifinalist Maria is 2-0 in her previous Hologic WTA Tour singles finals, with her other title coming on grass at 2018 Mallorca.
🇺🇸 Tercera estadounidense en llegar a la final de la Copa Colsanitas:
— Copa Colsanitas (@CopaColsanitas_) April 9, 2023
2016: Irina Falconi 🏆
2019: Amanda Anisimova 🏆
2023: Peyton Stearns ❓#CopaColsanitas pic.twitter.com/r0S0W8D5U1
To win her second consecutive Copa Colsanitas title, Maria will have to beat Stearns in their first meeting. The 21-year-old American Stearns reached her first career WTA singles final with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory over No.4 seed Kamilla Rakhimova.
Highlights: Stearns def. Rakhimova
Rakhimova led by a break at 4-3 in the first set when more rain hit Bogota, and just like the first semifinal, the second semifinal suffered a rain interruption of over three hours.
Upon resumption, 90th-ranked Rakhimova closed out the first set, but World No.116 Stearns took control in the second and third sets to ease through to the final after a total of 2 hours and 14 minutes on court.
Last year's NCAA singles champion Stearns ended the match with 27 winners, more than double Rakhimova's 13. With the victory, Stearns avenged two losses to Rakhimova at Junior Grand Slams in 2018.