Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit says her self-belief on the Tour has surged in recent months after securing a place in the title match at the WTA Finals on her debut.
The 25-year-old defeated Greece’s Maria Sakkari 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, to reach the most prestigious final of her career to date. Kontaveit has dropped just three sets in four matches played so far in the tournament. In her latest encounter, she hit 32 winners and won 73% of her first service points against Sakkari. It is her seventh win over a top 10 player this season.
“I still can’t quite believe that I’m even here and I’m playing against the best players at such a prestigious tournament,” Kontaveit told wtatennis.com. “I’m just so proud of myself that I managed to do this and so happy to be competing at this level and just trying to take it all in.”
Breaking into the world’s top 10 for the first time this year, Kontaveit was the last player to secure a place in the season-ending event following a late surge in success on the Tour. Coming into the tournament she has won back-to-back titles in Russia and Romania. Overall, she has won 13 out of her last 14 matches played on the Tour. A stark contrast to earlier in the year where she suffered first round losses at tournaments in Wimbledon, the Tokyo Olympics, Montreal and Cincinnati.
“I feel like the last few months have really showed me that I can play really well, I can beat great players consistently,” Kontaveit said. “I think I sort of have this self-belief now. When I came here, of course, I had nothing to lose. Every time I step on the court, I still think I can win the match, just do well.”
Standing in Kontaveit’s way of the title is two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza who beat her earlier in the tournament during the group stages. Muguruza cruised to a 6-3, 6-3, win over Paula Badosa to become the first player from her country to reach a final at the WTA Finals since Arantxa Sanchez Vicario back in 1993.
With two WTA trophies already under her belt this season, should Muguruza prevail in Wednesday’s final it will be the first time in her career she has won a trio of titles within the same year. She leads Kontaveit 3-2 in their head-to-head but they are tied at 1-1 when it comes to matches played this season.
“I don’t feel like a favorite, maybe on paper or for the TV, but I don’t feel like it,” Muguruza said. “I started here losing and I thought that I could be eliminated, so for me to say that I feel like a favorite for the final is complicated.”
Whoever prevails in the final will become the first player from their nation to win the WTA Finals singles title.
