ABN AMRO Open—Netherlands
De Minaur Reaches Rotterdam Final; Bencic Wins Abu Dhabi Event; Potapova Advances to Cluj-Napoca Final
No. 3 seed Alex de Minaur reached the finals of the ABN AMRO Open in the Netherlands on Saturday, defeating Italian Mattia Bellucci 6-1, 6-2.
Needing one hour and seven minutes to seal his victory, de Minaur struck one ace, won 78 percent of his first serve points and broke his opponent on four occasions.
Bellucci had defeated No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev and No. 6 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas earlier in the event.
The Australian will await the winner of the day’s second semifinal featuring top seed Carlos Alcaraz taking on No. 8 seed Hubert Hurkacz.
Alcaraz lead Hurkacz 3-0 in career head-to-head meetings.
The Spaniard has been in great form this week and will be the favourite to take the title this weekend.
*****
Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open presented by Abu Dhabi Sports Council—Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Swiss star Belinda Bencic captured the 500 level event in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. on Saturday, defeating American Ashlyn Krueger 4-6, 6-1, 6-1.
Bencic, who recently gave birth to her first child last year, recovered from a set down to upend her inspired opponent.
Hitting two aces, winning 56 percent of her first serve points and breaking serve on eight occasions, Bencic seal her title in two hours and 23 minutes.
The 27-year-old now owns nine WTA titles. She will move up to No. 65 when the latest rankings are released.
Krueger, who was looking to win her second career title, will move up to No. 40 in the world on Monday.
The 20-year-old defeated No. 3 seed Daria Kasatkina, and No. 8 seed Leylah Fernandez en-route to the finals.
*****
Transylvania Open—Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Top seed Anastasia Potapova advanced to the finals of the Transylvania Open in Cluj-Napoca, Romania on Saturday, defeating Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-3, 7-5.
In a match that lasted one hour and 36 minutes, Potapova hit five aces, won 83 percent of her first serve points and broke her Belorussian opponent on four occasions.
Potapova, who is currently ranked No. 32 in the world, will next face Lucia Bronzetti in the finals.
Bronzetti advanced to the championship round when No. 5 seed Katerina Siniakova retired trailing 4-0 in the first set.
Potapova owns two career titles, while Bronzetti has won one tournament during her career.
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