German qualifier Tatjana Maria continued her remarkable run at the HSBC Championships on Saturday with a shock straight-sets victory over second seed Madison Keys.
The world No.86 secured a 6-3, 7-6,(3), win against the reigning Australian Open champion in what is her third consecutive triumph over a top 20 player at the tournament. Maria has also beaten Karolina Muchova and Elena Rybakinka earlier this week.
During her latest match at The Queen’s Club, Maria utilized her slice to full effect, which triggered a series of mistakes from Keys. She was also highly effective behind her first serve, winning 91% of points played.
“I cannot believe it, it’s a dream come true,” said Maria, who reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 2022.
“It’s amazing to play in front of you all, such a special place.
“I could not wish for a better tournament to be in the final and I’m so proud.”
The 37-year-old mother-of-two came into the tournament on a nine-match losing streak (including Billie Jean King Cup matches). After winning two rounds of qualifying to reach the main draw, she had now only dropped one set in her last four matches played, which was in the quarter-finals against Muchova.
As to how she has managed to regain her form, Maria puts it down to never giving up.
“You always have to keep going. You never can stop, [it] doesn’t matter how it goes,” she said.
“I’ve had my ups and downs but I always keep going.
“I love to play tennis, I love the sport and we live for these special moments – that’s why it’s amazing.”
Maria is the oldest player to reach the final of a WTA 500 tournament and the oldest to reach the final of any WTA event since Serena Williams at the 2020 ASB Classic in Auckland.
Awaiting her in the final will be Amanda Anisimova, who ousted top seed Qinwen Zheng 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, in a scrappy encounter. There were 12 breaks of serves between the two players. Nevertheless, Anisimova held her nerve to seal her second consecutive win over a top 10 player this week after beating Emma Navarro in the quarter-finals.
“I’m so happy to be through this match,” said Anisimova.
“I had never gotten a win over her. Every time we played we had some really tough battles.
“I was really relieved at the end. The conditions were very tricky so I’m sure we struggled a little bit with that but we still managed to play some really good tennis. I’m really happy with that.”
It is the first time the American have beaten Zheng after losing their two previous meetings despite winning the opening set in both of those encounters.
“She’s a top player. She always manages to pick up her level, especially in the second set,” she said of Zheng.
“I knew that I was going to have to change things up and adjust a little bit. I’m happy with the way I was able to try and stay composed. I just fought my way through.”
Anisimova is through to her first WTA final on the grass. It will be the first time she has played Maria on the Tour since the 2018 China Open where she was beaten in three sets.
“That’s going to be tricky on grass,” the world No.15 said of facing Maria’s slice shots in Sunday’s final.
“I’m super happy to see her in the final. It’s incredible what she’s doing. It’s going to be a great final.”
This year’s champion will earn $164,000 in prize money.
