The final round of qualifying matches at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open came to an end on Sunday, and now athletes will begin fighting it out to be No. 1 at Victoria Park Tennis Stadium.
Sunday’s action started with the qualifiers’ No. 1 seed, Australian Maddison Inglis, beating China’s Lu Jiajing in straight sets 6-4, 6-4.
But the story of the day came on court one, where Russia’s Kristiana Sidorova knocked out the qualifier’s fifth seed, Haruka Kaji of Japan, 6-1, 6-2.
That win means Sidorova, ranked world No. 527, will make her WTA 250 debut when the first round starts on Monday.
Sidorova’s victory marked her second in the qualifying rounds, after she came from behind to beat the seventh seed and world No. 296 Zarina Diyas, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
“I’m honestly overwhelmed,” Sidorova said. “My first WTA tournament, first main draw, I’m just happy to be here.
“Yesterday was quite tough for me to manage my emotions. First set, I was really tired, and then I found my game, I felt confident, and today I just tried to do the same, to be energised and pumped from the very first point. And yeah, I saw that I can win, and it just gave me confidence.
“It was unexpected, honestly. I came here at the last moment. I just gave it a shot, like, why not? I was playing the week before in China, and I lost in the second round. And I was like, ‘Okay, I might just go to Hong Kong and enjoy my time’.”
Sidorova, who had been playing most of the year on the Women’s Tennis Tour, stormed to a 5-0 lead and wrapped up the first set in under an hour on Sunday.
But despite usually playing on the third tier of professional tennis, the 19-year-old looked comfortable at the WTA 250 level, hitting powerful shots and dashing to the net under the Hong Kong sun.
In the final set, Sidorova forced three break points before converting the fourth to establish a 4-2 crucial lead.
As Sidorova was serving to go 5-2 up, it appeared as if nerves might be setting in. She pulled out of her serve and then dropped the ball as she tried to compose herself. But any doubt she was crumbling under the pressure quickly disappeared, as she fired off a powerful serve, forcing Kaji on to the backfoot before the Russian came to the net and won the point.
With the wind in her sails, Sidorova again came to the net to score and then held serve with a delicious ace.
In the final game, Sidorova forced Kaji to hit the net twice on her way to setting up a double match point. She was unable to convert that one, but won the match with a delightful cross-court backhand.
Sidorova lives and trains in Beijing because she said she plays a lot of Futures tournaments in Asia. She said being with her new team in China’s capital has improved her tennis.
“Since I moved to Beijing, I can see myself making big progress, and now it’s showing in the game as well.I’m just really happy, and I’m grateful to be surrounded by such a great team.”
It is also her first time in Hong Kong, and the youngster said she loves the city, which reminds her of a mix between mainland China and Australia.
In other news, the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open’s No. 1 seed has yet to arrive in the city, but that is for good reason.
Swiss player Belinda Bencic won the Japan Open, her tenth career title, on Sunday, beating Linda Noskova 6-2, 6-3.
Bencic will arrive in Hong Kong on Sunday and will face Aliaksandra Sasnovich on Tuesday.