Irina Camelia-Begu jumps 28 slots in the rankings after a stunning tour of Tashkent – Tennis News
An emphatic victory at the final of the Tashkent Open has helped the 22-year-old Romanian star, Irina Camelia-Begu, to jump to the 59th spot in the latest edition of the Women Tennis Association rankings issued on Monday.
She started the tournament as the 87th ranked professional and registered a remarkable turnaround in the form; cruising her way into the finals and winning the contest.
Irina Camelia-Begu finally broke the shackles and accomplished the dream of winning her maiden WTA title on the eve of Saturday. She ousted the 16-year-old Croatian professional, Donna Vekic, who made her way into the grand finale
all the way from the qualifying stages. So, it was a contest of two underdogs that were never expected to be playing against one another in the final.
Begu was not a seeded player as well but she trashed the third seeded French star, Alize Cornet, in the second round before overpowering the eighth seed Kazakh star, Galina Voskoboeva, in the quarters. In the semi-finals, she was
up against the 40th ranked Pole star, Urszula Radwanska, who was seeded number two in the tournament. She got past her in straight sets and booked a final showdown against the Croatian qualifier.
Vekic was the biggest sensation in the tournament, having reached that far at the age of 16. So, the 22-year-old Romanian was under a lot of pressure but she capitalized on her game plan and left the arena as the champion. In the
post-match interview, the Romanian star stated, “My service is what got me through - Donna played very well and I was happy to break her in both sets. I was a little worried when she came back from 4-2 to level the score 4-4 in the second set, but I managed
to break her back immediately to take a 5-4 lead, and then I served it out.”
She further added, “It feels great to win a title. I'll take back sweet memories from the Tashkent Open. I'm glad I made the last minute decision to play here, and I will surely come back to defend my title next year."
Vekic who also had an emphatic tour of Tashkent sees herself comfortably placed at 121 in the world; jumping 62 slots in just a week. It’s a cracking start to the career of the 16-year-old kid who is yet to learn the traits of
meeting the big guns at elite platforms. However, she is not one of those players who will bow down to the hype of their opponent but fight until the last point is contested; definitely a bright future prospect.
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