The Lucie Show

Safarova knocks off Tsurenko to reach final

NEW HAVEN >> The lucky loser seemed intent on keeping her magical run going. Instead, a worthy winner prevailed.

Lucie Safarova breezed to an easy opening-set victory, then withstood Lesia Tsurenko’s spirited comeback bid in the second to notch a 6-2, 7-6 (4) win in a Connecticut Open semifinal match on Friday afternoon.

Safarova, ranked No. 6 in the world, will face Petra Kvitova semifinal in the Saturday’s 3 p.m. final.

“It’s great to be in the finals, I’m really happy about that,” said Safarova, the tourney’s No. 4 seed. “I had some great wins here, and I’m excited for the finals. Then, obviously, as quick as possile, get to New York and start the Open.”

With a spirited cheering section rooting her on, Safarova broke Tsurenko’s serve right off the bat and had little trouble winning the first set. She was up 4-1 in the second after Tsurenko double-faulted to lose the fifth game, but the Ukrainian wasn’t done yet. She broke Safarova in the ensuing game, and after holding serve, did so again to even the set at 4.

“I think I started to rush a little bit, and I was not really concentrating on the moment,” Safarova explained. “She took the opportunity and started pressuring me, so the whole momentum started to shift. Suddenly, instead of me being the one who is coming and taking over, she was the one. So, back to basics, take my time, and start again and play aggressive. I started to play my game.”

Tsurenko won a long point in the next game to draw an ovation from the crowd and eventually even the match at 5, then took her first lead of the match at 6-5. But Safarova forced the tiebreaker, and at 4-4 won the final three points to seal the deal.

Tsurenko, No. 46, got into the main draw as a lucky loser — the highest-seeded player to lose in the final round of qualifying — after top seed Simona Halep was forced to withdraw.

This is just the second time Safarova, 28, has played in New Haven and the first time since 2012. In the past, she’d play the gauntlet of tournaments from Washington, Toronto and Cincinnati, then take New Haven off before heading to the U.S. Open. This year, however, she started in Toronto, where she got sick and lost early.

“So, I felt like I needed some extra matches,” she said. “That’s why I asked (tournament director Anne Worcester) for the wild card. That’s how it happened. I really like this tournament, it was just my scheduling that didn’t really fit to play it.”

It also helps that she has a sister who lives in Newburgh, New York — though, ironically, she is currently visiting the Czech Republic with her daughters. Her brother-in-law’s father was among the onlookers on Friday, and Safarova’s brother-in-law (along with numerous friends) will be there for the final.

In all, this has been a breakout season for Safarova, who advanced to the final of the French Open, losing to Serena Williams (though beating No. 2 Maria Sharapova and No. 7 Ana Ivanovic along the way).

Ironically, the season started poorly, with a firstround, three-set loss at the Australian Open.

“I was really down at that point, because I had done so much hard work in the offseason and you expect to get some good results,” Safarova reported. “I lost in the first round, so I was like, ‘Oh my God, this season started so bad!’”