In what promises to be a thrilling final, Camila Giorgi of Italy will take on Poland’s Magda Linette for the Bronx Open crown. Both women will surely be desperate to secure the perfect preparation for the US Open, which starts across New York City on Monday. But who will come out on top?
Bronx Open Final
Camila Giorgi vs Magda Linette
Head-to-head: Giorgi 1-0 Linette
Giorgi, who has endured a rather inconsistent season and currently sits outside the top 50 at world #58, has come alive in the Bronx, recapturing the form that took her to the Washington Open final (lost to Pegula) earlier this month. That upturn in form will surely be most welcome after she suffered heavy first-round defeats in Toronto and Cincinnati. The Italian started her week with a comprehensive 6-3 6-2 win over Margarita Gasparyan, but she has had to battle hard since.
In the second round, she rallied from dropping the first set to beat German Andrea Petkovic 3-6 7-5 7-6, before picking up a swift 6-2 6-1 win over Alize Cornet of France in the quarterfinals. Then in the semifinals, in what was surely the match of the week, she edged out top seed Wang Qiang. The Chinese served for the match and held four match points, but Giorgi did not know when she was beaten and managed to claim a hard-fought 4-6 6-4 7-6 win.
Linette, meanwhile, began her week in the qualifying. The Pole, who failed to reach the main draw in both Toronto and Cincinnati, bounced back from that disappointment in style by beating Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski 6-1 6-2, Sophie Chang 6-3 6-3 and Anna Blinkova 7-6 7-6 to reach the main draw. There she has played more fine tennis, claiming wins over Kaia Kanepi, Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Karolina Muchova and Katerina Siniakova to reach the final, dropping just one set in the process.
Giorgi, though not one of the biggest players on the tour, plays her best tennis on the front foot and she will surely look to do just that up against Linette. It was that sort of aggressive hitting that took Giorgi to a 6-7 6-3 6-2 win over the Pole in their only previous meeting, which came four years ago in Katowice. In similar conditions, Giorgi will surely have to work hard to claim a repeat of that result with this likely to be another close contest. But the Italian’s ability to step in should just give her the edge in this one.
Prediction: Giorgi in 3
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
