WTA Tournament in Bad Homburg, Final, Saturday, 25.06.2022
The fans in Bad Homburg had hoped for a German player in the big final of the WTA tournament, but now two others are in the final. Only a few people expected them in the run-up to the tournament.
One could crown her comeback, the other her first title in over three years.
Number 64 against number 75? No question, you really couldn’t assume this line-up in the final in Bad Homburg. Bianca Andreescu knows what it’s like much higher up, a good two and a half years ago she was world number 4.
A lot has happened since then, hard to believe that the Canadian is only 20 years old. Her meteoric rise was followed by a crash, followed by many injuries. She returned to the big stage at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in April.
Since then, she has been climbing up the ladder step by step, defying even the real top players to win sets or tiebreaks. She is not yet consistent enough to win all close matches.
Obviously, she thought in Bad Homburg: “Just go full throttle and get clear results! She started with a 6-3, 6-1 against Martina Trevisan, followed by a 6-4, 6-4 against Katie Swan.
In the quarter-finals she was the underdog against Daria Kasatkina, seeded 1. This apparently didn’t bother her much as Andreescu cruised to a surprisingly clear 6-4, 6-1.
Even one round later, not many expected her to play Simona Halep. She should have, because the Romanian missed the duel due to injury. And so it happens that Andreescu could win a title for the first time since the 2019 US Open.
She has never won a trophy on grass, as her opponent Carolina Garcia should know. The bookmakers have the Canadian in the lead, with odds of 1.35 to 3.00. The Frenchwoman knows the situation of a final.
The Frenchwoman is not quite familiar with the situation of a final either, she won her last title in June 2019. Is it an advantage that they cheered on grass back then? She has certainly had a bit of luck with not-so-tough opponents over the course of the tournament.
A 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 loss to Aliaksandra Sasnovic opened her competition, then Garcia won 6-3, 6-4 against Kamilla Rakhimova. In the quarter-finals, the 28-year-old had the crowd against her as she faced the resurgent Sabine Lisicki.
Garcia had to fight hard, but in the end the scoreboard showed 6-3, 7-6. She had saved her toughest fight for the semi-final against compatriot Alize Cornet, who went into a third set as in the first round.
7-6, 3-6, 7-5, 71% won points on first serve equals the weakest score of the tournament so far. In the first direct duel with Andreescu, however, it will not only be the service that will be decisive.
My Andreescu Garcia Tip
Long had Bianca Andreescu to wait for a moment like this coming Saturday.
Even Daria Kasatkina beat her outright. Caroline Carcia had closer results despite easier opponents, but she is a passionate fighter. Therefore, I opt for the following tip:
Andreescu wins by more than 16.5 Games!
