Elisabetta Cocciaretto eliminated Sofia Kenin at the semi-finals of the WTA 250 Hobart International and will play for the title. The Italian tennis player won the match versus her American opponent by 2-1 (7:5, 4:6, 6:1) in 2:07 hours.
Elisabetta Cocciaretto scored 9 aces and despite winning only 63% of the 1st Serve Points, succeeded to grab the victory and play for the title of the tournament. This would be her second WTA title after winning WTA 125 Abierto Tampico at the end of 2022.
The first set started equally, both winning their first serving games relatively easy. They exchanged a break in the third and fourth games and continue to move side by side. Elisabetta Cocciaretto missed two break points in the 9th game, while Sofia Kenin missed a setpoint in the 10th game, at 4:5. However, in the next game, the Italian tennis player succeeded to break her opponent and took an important lead, serving for the set. She did not make a mistake and won the game on 15 and closed the set.
The second set was moving relatively the same as the first one. Both won the first serve game and then exchanged a break. The set was also running equally and Sofia Kenin made a break in the very last game of the set to win it and return into the match.
However, Elisabetta Cocciaretto took the initiative in the third set and started with two break to take a comfortable lead of 3:0. The fourth game, as her serve, was the most dramatic in the match, as she needed to save 5 break points and finally got the win, which ensured her a lead of 4:0. Thus, everything she needed was not to lose her own serve gamaes. Sofia Kenin mentally lost the match and gave the last set on zero. Thus, Elisabetta Cocciaretto won the set by 6:1 and closed the match by 2-1.
“It’s unbelievable for me to be here in the final of such a great tournament, and I’m really happy about my performance today. Kenin is a very good player, I was a junior when she won the Grand Slam, so for me it’s an honor to play against her”, said Elisabetta Cocciaretto after the victory. “The first set, I took the chance to win the set, and then the second set, she was more focused, she was more aggressive than me. I think that’s why she won the second. Then I tried to change my game a little bit in the third, and it was really tough, but I’m happy about my win”, added she.
In the final, Elisabetta Cocciaretto will face Lauren Davis (USA), who defeated Anna Blinkova (Russia) by 2-0 (6:3, 6:3).
