Anna Kalinskaya, surprise doubles triumph in Madrid

Surprise triumph for Anna Kalinskaya. The Russian tennis player, in fact, won the doubles tournament of the WTA 1000 in Madrid paired with Romanian Sorana Cirstea, overcoming the duo formed by Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens in a super tie-break in a tight final.

6-7 6-2 12-10 was the final score by which Kalinskaya and Mertens graduated champions of the Mutua Madrid Open after just over two and a quarter hours of play. After a hard-fought first set decided only by the tie-break, won by the Russian-Belgian pair 12-10, came the immediate reaction of Anna and Sorana who took the second partial with authority (6-2).

The final was decided by the super tie-break: Kudermetova/Mertens sprinted to a 6-3 lead but got caught up at 6-6. From there it was a point-to-point phase until 12-10 with which Kalinskaya and Cirstea won their first career 1000 in doubles.

“It’s a special day, the cheering was fantastic – Kalinskaya said during the award ceremony. “It was a beautiful match, luck was slightly more on our side. I did not expect that we could play so well, we are very happy and we enjoyed every minute”.