Darja Semenistaja celebrates after her win© X (formerly Twitter)
Latvia’s Darja Semenistaja won the biggest singles title of her career so far after winning the Mumbai Open WTA 125K Series Tennis Championships, which was organized by the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) and the Cricket Club of India (CCI), on Sunday. The 21-year-old from Latvia came from a set down and saved a match point late in the second set before prevailing over fellow southpaw Storm Hunter, of Australia, in a two-and-a-half-hour battle. Semenistaja finally prevailed 5-7, 7-6 (6), 6-2 to win the title and continue her purple patch on Indian soil in 2024. The Latvian won an ITF W50 title in Bengaluru last month and has also claimed two ITF doubles titles in the country before capping her run with the Mumbai title this week.
Earlier on Sunday, second seeds Dalila Jakupovic/ Sabrina Santamaria captured the doubles title ending the hopes of India No. 1 Prarthana Thombare and Dutchwoman Arianne Hartono.
The second-seeded Slovenian-American pairing won the first set 6-4 before Thombare and Hartono struck an early break to lead 2-0 in the second. However, Jakupovic and Santamaria fought back to take six of the last seven games and complete the 6-4, 6-3 win in one hour and 25 minutes. Jakupovic was also a finalist in the singles event at this tournament in 2017 when she lost to reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka.
Topics mentioned in this article
