By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday June 17, 2023
Veronika Kudermetova and Ekaterina Alexandrova will battle for bragging rights in the 's-Hertogenbosh final on Sunday.
Photo Source: TTV
Defending champion Ekaterina Alexandrova and Veronika Kudermetova each notched straight-set wins on Saturday to set an all-Russian final at the Libema Open.
Top-seeded Kudermetova edged Viktoria Hruncakova, 6-3, 6-2, while Alexandrova moved past Aliaksandra Sasnovich, 6-1, 7-6(1).
Sunday’s final will be a rematch of one of last year’s semifinals at ‘s-Hertogenbosch, won by now 26th-ranked Alexandrova en route to her maiden grass court title.
Alexandrova, 28, has won 18 consecutive sets at ‘s-Hertogenbosch – after dropping her opening set last year to Dayana Yastremska, she won the next ten sets she played, including two in the final against Aryna Sabalenka.
She has won all eight sets she has played in the Netherlands this year.
Alexandrova, who improves to 19-11 lifetime on grass and 11-3 lifetime at the Libema Open, is bidding for her second title on grass; Kudermetova, improved to 12-3 lifetime at the Libema Open, has lost just 17 games en route to the final.
She broke a seven-match losing streak in WTA semifinals with Saturday’s win over Hruncakova.
Kudermetova is bidding for her first title on grass.