History was made at the BRD Bucharest Open after Patricia Maria Tig became the first qualifier to make the finals at this tournament. Over the week, we’ve watched the seeded players eliminated through amazing upsets. And, now we’re down to the final two. But who will come out on top?
Bucharest Open Final: Patricia Maria Tig vs Elena Rybakina
Head-to-head: First meeting
Patricia Maria Tig
A real life Cinderella story – with the fairy godmother none other than the grit, determination and passion Patricia Maria Tig brings to the game. An historic event, Tig is now the first qualifier to reach the final in Bucharest. And the story goes like this:
Tig hasn’t played a tour level match since 2017. Career ending injuries plagued the 24-year-old Romanian. A knee injury. An elbow issue. Breathing issues which eventually required surgery. Ongoing issues with her back. Then, in November, Tig became a new mom. We’ve seen careers derailed by a single of these issues. Yet, Tig has overcome injury and has successfully returned post-maternity. It is undoubtedly a glorious return to tour level play.
On home soil, Tig has played eight matches in eight days. The Romanian has dropped but a single set in her pursuit of the title. The unranked player has upset three seeded players. The #1 seed Anastasija Sevastova fell 2-6, 5-7 in the Round of 16. A quarterfinal clash against the #8 seed Kristyna Pliskova was pushed to the decider. After dropping the second set 3-6, Tig rebounded and took the decider 6-3.
In the semifinal, Tig blasted forehands mere inches from the baseline. Then, the deft touch of the Tig drop shots went unanswered by the sixth seed. Siegemund had a few opportunities to run down well-crafted drop shots, only to have Tig blast a winner to the open court. It was a stellar performance in which the Romanian was in full control.
Elena Rybakina
Elena Rybakina has booked her spot in the Bucharest Open final without having dropped a set. The 20-year-old Kazakhstani will play for her first career title.
Opening her campaign against Spain’s Paula Badosa Gibert, Rybakina has perhaps one of the hardest straight sets win 7-5, 7-6. The round of 16 was the exact opposite. Rybakina moved through with the loss of a single game. Perhaps the biggest challenge, Rybakina bounced the #2 seed Viktoria Kuzmova 7-6, 6-3.
Martina Di Giuseppe, another qualifier making a deep run in Bucharest, appeared exhausted. While the Italian qualifier was able to break the Rybakina serve, the Kazakh claimed four breaks of serve leading to a 6-3, 6-2 win.
The Way to the Win
Rybakina is looking for her first WTA tour level title. And, she’s playing against not just Tig, but the entire Romanian crowd there to support one of their own. The Kazakh will need to keep her nerves in check. Most importantly, Rybakina will need to improve her first serve percentage. In her semifinal bid, Rybakina served just 59% first serves. Fortunately, she won 81% of those first serves, and had stellar defense to win 78% of her second serves. A fatigued De Giuseppe didn’t have the ability to punish the errant Rybakina serve. Yet, Tig certainly can.
Tig is having a dream run. Full of confidence and certain to have the fans behind her, Tig should be able to play with freedom. Rybakina is a much better mover than Siegemund, so the drop shots may not produce a slew of easy points. Tig will need to be careful with her shot selection and sparingly use that weapon. Tig will need to be at her defensive best, as it will be easy for Rybakina to get into the Tig service.
Prediction: Tig in three
Main photo:
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