Another major final for Aleksandra Krunić, the second of her career!
After the Roland Garros final, Krunić and Ana Danilina will also play for the title at the Australian Open. They overturned a 1:3 deficit in the third set and defeated Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani 7:6 (7-2), 3:6, 6:4. In the final, they will face the winners of the match Shibahara/Zvonareva – Mertens/Zhang.
Aleksandra and Ana ultimately won the first set—it could have been easier, but in the end it was turbulent. The Serbian-Kazakh pairing had two set points at 5:2 and one at 5:3… however, it was not enough, as Dabrowski and Stefani came back into the set and at 5:5 reached 15-40.
Krunić and Danilina remained composed, Ana served well and a turnaround followed. In the tie-break, the Krunić-Danilina pair was superior, the serve worked, and after exactly one hour the set ended with Aleksandra’s ace for 7-2.
Ana and Aleksandra reached 15-30 in the next game, but the Brazilian-Canadian combination won three points in a row to level the match at 1-1 in sets. They broke Danilina late in the second set, and then Krunić at the start of the third set, right after Aleksandra sent a drive volley forehand into the net.
Krunić and Danilina had 0-30 at 1:2, but poor shots by the Kazakh player cost them a break opportunity under the newly closed roof due to rain. What they did not do then, they did in the next game, without losing a single point.
Krunić and Danilina took control, went up 5:3, but then failed to serve out the match—on the second break point Aleksandra sent a forehand wide. However, in the following game—dominance. Two fantastic returns to start and Aleksandra’s short crosscourt forehand for the win.
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Source: SportKlub; Foto: EPA-EFE/JUSTIN LANE