Another wonderful performance from Aleks. 22 winners and only 9 unforced errors. She was that good. Everything today was great. The slice was so effective, the serve was awesome at times, the dropshots were inspired and fiendish, and some of Aleks' winners were insanely audacious. It is such a delight to see Aleks playing so well.
The 1st set was flawless. In the 2nd set there were a couple of hiccups but each time Aleks bounced back immediately. She never got down on herself today and she oozed confidence.
The final will be tough. Shuai Zhang is clearly playing super. But if Aleks plays as well as she has the last couple of matches I feel confident that at the very least Aleks will give a good account of herself and that's all one can ask for.
Prior to this match, Aleks was 0-3 against Yanina. But then she was 0-4 against defending champion Lesia too. So Aleks is comfortably taking care of players she has never beaten before this week. That is reflective of how much tangible improvement there has been in Aleks' game the last few months.
Speaking personally, it is really enjoyable to see one's favourite player playing the way one always hoped and believed they could. Watching Aleks play this week has been way cool. Somebody pinch me.
Commiserations to Yanina. She played pretty well but just came up against someone in inspired form. But if she continues playing at this level she should have a decent year in 2018.
Aleks Nina was pretty much getting better match after match so I didn't see this one coming.
22/9 are crazy stats. Aleks has been one of the steadiest defenders lately so this first final is a much deserved (and long delayed) one. Congrats :yeah: