Second-seeded Danka Kovinic faces an upbeat Kateryna Baindl in the semifinals of the Copa LP Chile on Saturday.
Danka Kovinic
The 27-year-old has reached her second consecutive semifinal. She came into the tournament on the back of a run to the semis in the Emilia-Romagna Open and has made it to the last-4 stage in Chile. However, the road has not been a smooth one for the experienced campaigner.
Kovinic began her campaign with a comfortable win against America’s Bethanie Mattek-Sands in straight sets 6-0, 6-3. In the round of 16, Kovinic had to dig deep against Yuki Naito. After getting blown away in the first set, the Japanese athlete made a comeback and took the Montenegrin to the limit in the remaining two sets.
Kovinic eventually won the match 6-1, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4. In the quarterfinals, Kovinic had to show some great doggedness as she was given a great run for her money by the 18-year-old Diana Shnaider. The Russian youngster had a set point in the first set but couldn’t put the finishing touches. In the second set, she went ahead by 4-1 but Kovinic crawled back with all her experience and won the match 7-6 (7-4), 6-4.
Kateryna Baindl
The Ukrainian is one win away from reaching her second consecutive final. She entered the tournament on the back of a loss in the finals of an ITF event in Spain.
Baindl has also had to work very hard to get to the semis. She began her campaign with a solid win against Rosa Vicens Mas in straight sets 7-5, 6-4. In the round of 16, Baindl ousted the fourth-seeded Tamara Zidansek in a three-set thriller. The match ended 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 in favor of Baindl. World No. 138 faced No. 7 seed Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva in the quarterfinals. Baindl came back from a set down to win the match 6-7 (7-9), 6-2, 6-3.
Head-to-Head and Prediction
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 3-2 in favor of Baindl. She won their last encounter in a WTA 125 event in Bucharest earlier this year in straight sets.
Prediction: Danka Kovinic to win in three sets.
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