What a comeback! Blinkova won her second career doubles title after failing in singles
Alexander Nasonov September 14, 2024, 22:30 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
In the final in Monastir, Anna and Egypt’s Mayar Sherif defeated Russia’s Alina Korneeva and Anastasia Zakharova.
On Saturday, September 14, the doubles final of the WTA-250 tournament took place in Monastir (Tunisia). Even before the match, it was known that at least one Russian tennis player would become the champion. Anna Blinkova and Egyptian Mayar Sherif played with 17-year-old Alina Korneeva and Anastasia Zakharova.
Both couples were unseeded, but this did not prevent them from confidently advancing through the group. This is especially true for Korneeva and Zakharova, who have not lost a single set in three encounters. And this despite the fact that Alina and Anastasia played together for the first time!
Blinkova and Sheriff were considered the favourites of the match. Anna was the only one of the four participants who already had a WTA doubles title before the final. True, this was a long time ago: in May 2018, Blinkova, paired with Raluca Olaru, won on clay in Rabat. Sheriff had two losses in two WTA doubles finals, Zakharova had the same statistics, and Korneeva had the opportunity to compete for the title for the first time in her career.
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Despite this, at the beginning of the match, which took place in strong windy conditions, Korneeva and Zakharova looked better. In the first game they won the decisive point, after which Blinkova and Sheriff argued with the chair umpire: the tennis players did not agree with the linesman’s decision. In the second game, Alina and Anastasia managed to break to love. In the fifth game, Anna and Mayar restored equality in breaks, but that was the end of their success in the first game. The next three games were won by Korneeva and Zakharova, the latter on the decisive point. And in the 30th minute they took the set 6-2.
In the second game, Blinkova and Sheriff were able to turn the tide of the match. The key was that they started to make better plays on the second serve (50% versus 11% in the first set), while Korneeva and Zakharova, on the contrary, did not take a single point out of 10 on the second serve. Alina and Anastasia did not get anything out of their game. In the sixth game they managed to get a break, but in the seventh Anna and Mayar were better on the decisive point: 6:1 in 32 minutes.
The title was decided in a championship tie-break (up to 10 points). In it, Blinkova and Sheriff initially crushed their opponents with their attacks and approaches to the net (4:1). Korneeva’s serve also failed in the strong wind. Despite this, she and Zakharova rebuilt the game and tied the score 5-5. Later the players tied the game and everything was decided 8:8. Alina and Anastasia performed slightly worse in their rallies, shooting into the net and into touch, and Blinkova and Sheriff won with a comeback 2:6, 6:1. [10:8] in 1 hour 18 minutes.
Blinkova thus won her second career WTA doubles title. This may serve as consolation for her unsuccessful performances in singles, where Anna has now lost nine consecutive matches.
