By Chris Oddo | Sunday July 19, 2015
Rising star Anna Karolina Schmiedlova won her second title of 2015 and notched her first Top 20 win on Sunday in Bucharest.
Photo Source: BRD Bucharest Open
Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova won her second title of 2015 on Sunday in Bucharest, and gained a milestone and bit of revenge in the process.
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In a rematch of the 2015 Rio final (won by Errani in straight sets), the 20-year-old defeated the Sara Errani, 7-6(3), 6-3, to claim her first Top 20 win and her first clay-court title.
Last time they met it was Errani who squeaked through in a prolonged opening set to grab the early lead in a tiebreaker. On Sunday in Bucharest, despite squandering an early 3-0 lead and failing to convert a set point at 5-3, Schmiedlova broke through in the tiebreaker, winning the final four points with pinpoint shotmaking to take the set in 73 minutes.
Schmiedlova, who dazzled all day with her versatility and geometric precision on the backhand side, was faced with more difficulties in the second set. After claiming the early break for a 2-1 lead in set two with a backhand winner, the Slovak was broken back for 3-3. But no matter, Schmiedlova broke right back for 4-3 and cruised the rest of the day to finish off Errani in 2:07.
The victory gives Schmiedlova her first Top 20 win in six tries. She improved to 22-14 on the season (12-5 on clay). She becomes the seventh WTA player to own multiple titles in 2015, joining Serena Williams (4), Simona Halep (3), Angelique Kerber (3), Petra Kvitova (2), Maria Sharapova (2) and Timea Bacsinszky (2).
Errani drops to 8-10 in finals lifetime, and 7-5 in clay-court finals.