By Tennis Now | Saturday, February 23, 2019
Alison Van Uytvanck saved five match points edging Ekaterina Alexandrova,3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7) to extend her Budapest winning streak to nine matches.
Photo credit: Hungarian Tennis Facebook
A defiant Alison Van Uytvanck was pushed to the Budapest brink five times today.
The top seed sustained her winning streak by refusing to lose.
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Van Uytvanck fought back from a 2-5 final-set deficit denying five match points in edging Ekaterina Alexandrova, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7) to charge into the Hungarian Ladies Open final for the second straight year.
The reigning champion extend her Budapest winning streak to nine matches pulling off an improbable comeback.
The 50th-ranked Belgian will face either 17-year-old Russian Anastasia Potapova or Marketa Vondrousova in tomorrow's final.
The 64th-ranked Alexandrova appeared poised to reach the final when she built a 5-2 lead in the decider.
Van Uytvanck roared back ripping a backhand drive down the line she broke back for 4-5.
The Belgian made a stiff stand saving three match points in the 10th game, including piercing the sideline with a serve winner on the third match point, eventually holding for 5-all.
Resetting, Alexandrova rolled through a love hold.
Initially, Alexandrova was the aggressor in the tie breaker. She hit a forehand down the line for 5-3 then banged a backhand winner for a fourth match point at 6-4 in the tie break.
A gutsy Van Uytvanck fired a flat inside-out forehand and followed it forward flashing a drive volley for 6-5.
On the fifth match point, an increasingly frustrated Alexandrova put a backhand into net then dropped to the court in angst over lost opportunities.
A tense thriller came to a stirring climax. Alexandrova saved a match point with a brilliant backhand pass down the line.
Undaunted, Van Uytvanck carved out a sweet backhand drop shot winner that barely cleared net for a second match point. When Alexandrova's shot, initially called good, was shown to have barely landed long, the defending champion was through to a second straight final.