Maja Chwalinska beats defending champion on her perfect sojourn at S’pore Tennis Open

SINGAPORE - Out on Centre Court at the OCBC Arena, Maja Chwalinska seemed to get to every ball quicker, found more acute angles, and hit sharper strokes.

It was not any one thing that stood out in the 24-year-old’s 6-2, 6-2 quarter-final win on Sept 25 over defending champion Elise Mertens, in the Singapore Tennis Open presented by BNP Paribas. It was just how unfussed she looked throughout the match that she wrapped up in under 90 minutes.

For a player who has gone from qualifier to finalist at the French Open, then suffering an ankle injury as a seeded player at Wimbledon, and struggling with poor form, the Singapore sojourn has been a welcome breath of fresh air on her journey of recovery.

“This year was just an emotional roller coaster, really. Yeah, I had some tough weeks, and I kept on working on myself, and I stayed patient, just tried to push myself every single day. I think it’s paying off now. I’m feeling great here,” said Chwalinska.

She has yet to drop a set in three matches in what has been a perfect week in Singapore. She entered the quarter-final against Mertens without dropping a set after beating Rebecca Sramkova 6-4, 6-2, and Oleksandra Oliynykova 6-0, 6-1.

Chwalinska added: “Elise is such a solid player, very experienced, so I knew that I need to bring the best game to win. I just tried to focus on my goals for the match to give myself the best chance to win, and I’m happy I did that.

“I don’t think it was a perfect match. There’s always some room for improvement.”

It was Chwalinska’s second win over Mertens in the season, following her emphatic 6-4, 6-0 victory over the Belgian in the second round of French Open in May, when the Polish qualifier went on a fairy-tale run to the final before falling to 19-year-old Mirra Andreeva.

“Of course, after the French Open, it was wild, so many emotions, and you can’t really prepare for these kinds of things. But then Wimbledon happened all of a sudden, and it took me a while to trust my body again,” said Chwalinska, of the ankle injury she sustained at Wimbledon that saw her struggle to regain any sort of form.

Between May’s Roland Garros and the US Open that ended earlier in September, her record read: one win, five losses.

“I move a lot on the court, so I need my ankle to be healthy. It also took me a while to regain match rhythm, so I’m very happy that I was able to play and win three matches here – and hopefully two more,” she said, smiling.

Chwalinska could meet her nemesis from the French Open final here, if Roland Garros champion Andreeva overcomes Canadian Leylah Fernandez in her quarter-final played after press time.

Said Chwalinska: “It doesn’t matter who I’m gonna play against, it’s going to be a great battle for me. Some of the best players in the world are here so nothing changes, you’ve got to be prepared and bring your A game.”

In the day’s other action, Tatiana Prozorova battled through her third marathon of the Singapore Tennis Open, taking 181 minutes to overcome China’s Wang Xinyu 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the quarter-finals.

Prozorova, who beat Philippine sensation Alexandra Eala in 189 minutes just a day prior, also endured a two-hour 51 minute three-set battle against Sofia Costoulas on 22 Sept.

The Russian would have to dig deep and find some steel, as she paired up with compatriot Sofya Lansere in the women’s doubles quarter-finals soon after her singles match against Wang. They faced third seeds, Miyu Kato and Ellen Perez in the battle for a spot in the top four.