A magnificent breakthrough by a Russian tennis player. Took out an American and took the title

The trip to Japan turned out better than all expectations for Russian tennis player Veronika Kudermetova. The triumphant performance of our athlete allowed us to achieve long-awaited success at the prestigious tournament.

In the final, the top American was destroyed.

A hard road to the final

Kudermetova is not spending 2023 as successfully as her fans would like. In January, the Russian woman was in the top 10, but by September she fell back to the end of the second ten in the WTA rankings. Frequent defeats in the early stages of tournaments contributed to this.

The North American tour was extremely unsuccessful for Veronica. Perhaps that is why Dmitry Tursunov appeared on the Russian coaching staff. The specialist is famous for his ability to find an approach to tennis players and help them overcome difficult moments in their careers.

Coincidence or not, Tursunov’s invitation quickly yielded results. Very often lately Veronica has lost even to her rivals, but this did not happen in Japan. In the first two rounds, the Russian confidently outplayed Harriet Dart and Kayla Day.

In the quarterfinals, Kudermetova faced a very serious test in the person of the second racket of the world, Iga Swiatek. Before this, the lot brought the Russian woman together with the Polish woman four times, and these meetings did not end well for Veronica. Iga regularly crushed the Russian, without losing a set to her. But in Tokyo, the unpleasant trend has finally stopped. The Russian did not crumble, losing in the second game, and due to her stable play, she knocked out one of the main favorites from the tournament – 6:2; 2:6; 6:4.

The semifinal match with compatriot Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova turned out to be the longest in Veronica’s career. The Russians spent almost three and a half hours on the court, two tiebreakers were played. A difficult confrontation remained for Kudermetova – 7:6 (8:6); 6:7 (2:7); 6:3.

Veronica Kudermetova / Photo: © Robert Prange / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

“She was too good”

The functional state of the Russian before the final raised certain concerns. Veronica spent a lot of effort in the last meetings, and her opponent was not an easy one. Jessica Pegula is currently ranked fourth in the WTA rankings.

The American was considered the favorite, but from the very first games Veronica made it clear that her opponent might not even dream of an easy title. The Russian took three starting games, and at the same time produced a powerful series of ten won rallies in a row.

But Pegula did not break under the pressure of Kudermetova. Jessica returned to the game and even made it to the 12th game, although she still faltered at the decisive moment, making a double fault on the Russian’s set point.

The second game developed according to a completely different scenario. The Russian dominated on the court, allowing her opponent to take only one game. This victory brought Veronica the second WTA title in her career.

After the match, Pegula did not hide her disappointment at the missed opportunity, but acknowledged Kudermetova’s amazing form.

— I would like to congratulate Veronica and her team. She was too good this week and played amazing tennis today,” Jessica said.

After the victory, Veronica made a touching speech, thanking her husband and part-time coach Sergei Demyokhin.

— I wish Jessica a successful end to the season. I would like to thank my husband and coach. I know sometimes it’s not easy for us, but you are always with me,” Kudermetova said to the applause of the audience.

Success in Tokyo brought Veronica $120 thousand (about 12 million rubles) in prize money, as well as 470 points. This will allow the Russian woman to improve her position in the WTA rankings and become the 16th racket in the world on Monday.