Kaia Kanepi: “I've never won a final like this” – Tennis News
World number 26, Kaia Kanepi, won her first title of the season on Saturday by ousting the inferior ranked Spaniard, Carla Suarez Navarro, in an epic three-setter. It was the best match of her life as she stated in a prize-distribution ceremony, “I've won
a few matches from match points down but I've never won a final like this. I'll remember this final in a good way for a long time.”
It was her second championship title of the year, having won the season-opener in Brisbane. She has been a silent killer, performing consistently but not being able to catch the eye of the media. She continued her speech and stated, “This title means a lot.
I was injured and it was tough to come back. And though my fitness trainer was with me here, I quit with my coach recently, so it means a lot I did this on my own. But that doesn't mean I don't need a coach now!"
She has been fond of playing on clay court having being groomed on this surface since her childhood. She accepted that her performance in the final was below-par and looks to improve her shot selection at crunch times. She saved a match point in the second
set and then broke serve in a ‘do or die’ situation to keep the set alive. It was an emphatic comeback from such a bad position. Her opponent from Spain, Navarro, appreciated the Estonian’s performance and mentioned, “I was a point away, but Kaia played really
well and credit to her for the way she recovered.”
A gruelling three-setter witnessed a tight second round tie-breaker coupled with some jaw-dropping turnarounds throughout the contest. Both players entertained the crowd thoroughly for two hours and 37 minutes.
Kanepi started the tournament as world number 34 but raced away to 26th rank after winning the title. She entered as the sixth seed and defeated Vania King in the second round before knocking out the fourth seed Czech starlet, Petra Cetkovska,
in the following round. A supreme performance in the semi-final against the top seed Italian, Roberta Vinci, earned him a three-setter triumph and more importantly booked a date with the Spanish star, Navarro, in the final. She stayed focused and her commitment
rewarded her with the title.
Up next for the Estonian number one is the Mutua Madrid Open, another tournament on the clay court. She might fancy her chances but the squad is much bigger and more talented than the Estoril Open, so it will not be easy for her at all.
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