In their first WTA meeting, Timea Babos, the fourth seed, defeated fifth-seed Kirsten Flipkens in the first semifinal match at the WTA 125K tournament in Taipei: 6-3, 7-6. Babos, twenty-two years old, still has not dropped a set in the tournament. The Hungarian, is currently ranked 84; her highest ranking was 59 in August 2012. This is her second final this year; she also reached the final at Marrakesh in April. Flipkens, from Belgium, is ranked 92. The twenty-nine year old was ranked as high as 13 in August 2013 following a semifinal run at Wimbledon. In 2015, she was a semifinalist at Istanbul and Linz.
Although Babos’ first serve percentage was only 46 in the first set, she won all eleven of those points. She won 83% of her total service points and faced no breakpoints. Conversely, Flipkens won just 57% of her service points. Babos only needed one break of serve to take the set in 32 minutes.
In the second set, each player held serve coming up with big serves, beautiful passing shots, deep returns, and brilliant volleys when they needed them. They both faced their only breakpoints in the set in their final service games and they each came up with three big serves and a volley winner to hold, forcing a tiebreak. After a very close set, Babos dominated the tiebreak. It started badly for Flipkens as she followed in an excellent serve t
o set up an easy overhead that she hit into the net. After a volley winner by Babos, Flipkens had a chance to get the mini-break back but hit a lob just long. Babos then hit three winners to go up 6-0 and won the tiebreak 7-1 to take the match.
In the second semifinal, Misaki Doi of Japan, the number one seed, bested Evgeniya Rodina of Russia in straight sets: 7-6, 6-2. The tight first set was marked by strong service games and penetrating groundstrokes that allowed each player to construct points resulting in winners. The exception was the Russian’s second serve; she won only 33% of second service points compared to 64% for Doi. The number
one seed won 86% of her first serve (including six aces) and Rodina won 81% of hers. The left-handed Doi did not face a breakpoint in the set while Rodina was able to save the three she faced in the sixth game. Rodina
was up a mini-break twice early in the tiebreak. Up 3-2, three errors off her racket and two winners by Doi gave the set to Doi.
Doi kept her momentum going breaking Rodina’s serve to start the second set. The top seed went up 4-1 with a second break in the fifth game. Doi confirmed the break with three aces in the next game. Rodina then held serve to force Doi to serve for the match. Doi sealed the win with her twelfth ace on the final point. Rodina won only 48% of her first service points versus 86% again for Doi in the set. As in the first set, Doi did not face a breakpoint.
Doi was also the victor in straight sets in their only other WTA match, Tashkent in 2013. The twenty-four–old Doi has recently won the Luxembourg title and is at her highest career ranking of 60. Rodina, twenty-six, is currently ranked 87, her highest ranking was 74 in February 2011. Recently, she was a semifinalist at Tashkent in October.
Babos and Doi have not faced each other before at a WTA event. Both contestants are playing well to set up what should be an entertaining final.
