Peterson to play for consecutive titles
Top seed Rebecca Peterson continued her winning ways at the 2014 Margaret River Tennis International, coming back from a one set deficit to defeat third seed Risa Ozaki in their semifinal on Friday.
Margaret River WA 6285, Australia, 1 November 2014 | David Packman
Top seed Rebecca Peterson continued her winning ways at the 2014 Margaret River Tennis International, coming back from a one set deficit to defeat third seed Risa Ozaki in their semifinal on Friday.
The nineteen year-old Swede started relatively slowly, but improved as the match wore on, eventually overrunning her Japanese opponent, 3-6 6-1 6-2.
“[Ozaki] played really well in the first set,” Peterson said. “She was running and hitting the ball well.
“Then in the second and third, I got a bit more aggressive. I served much better too, so that helped me a lot.”
Peterson has had the hot hand recently, winning the title in Perth last week and looking extremely confident on court. In Margaret River, she has also had to overcome both her Swedish Fed cup teammates on the way to the final, edging out Susanne Celik in two tiebreakers in the quarterfinal.
“Those matches are the toughest ones,” she said. “It’s harder to get your head together. You know how much we both want to win.
“I’m definitely happy I could make it through.”
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In the other semifinal, Isabella Holland – the sole Australian remaining – found herself on the wrong end of the ledger, unceremoniously bundled out by Croat Tereza Mrdeza 6-0 6-0.
While Holland – who was treated for back spasms following her quarterfinal win over local girl Maddison Inglis on Thursday – did not impact the scoreboard, the match itself was closer than that might suggest, containing numerous hard fought rallies and solid shot making from both players.
In the end though, seventh seed Mrdeza continued the stunning form that took her past second seed Alize Lim in the quarterfinals and booked herself a place alongside Peterson in Saturday’s final.
Despite the result, Holland will take some satisfaction out of her Margaret River campaign, not only in reaching the semifinal, but also inflicting some punishment of her own in winning her opening round over Naomi Totka without the loss of a game and then defeating eighth seed Kamila Kerimbayeva.
The final shapes up as an intriguing affair. Peterson is ranked some 72 places higher than Mrdeza at World No. 212, but at 23, Mrdeza has an advantage in experience over the Swedish teenager. Each has the game to ensure it will be a highly entertaining spectacle.
“I’ve never played [Mrdeza] before. It’s going to be fun and I’m excited for tomorrow’s final,” Peterson said.