Alison Riske and Camila Giorgi competed for a place in the final of the Shenzhen Open with Riske triumphing in straight sets. The pair came into this match with a 1-1 head-to-head record, with their last meeting being at Wimbledon in 2014 which Riske won in straight sets. It would be a battle of powerful tennis as both often play offensive tennis during their matches which got them to this stage of this tournament and both already achieved a great run here as it was unexpected that they would still be at this stage of this tournament before the start of the new year. It was an encouraging win over Giorgi as the win got her into the final of the Shenzhen Open for the second year running, with a chance for her to improve on her last year’s performance when she lost to Agnieszka Radwanska in the final. Ironically, it was the American that defeated the Pole in the repeat of a final at the quarterfinal stage to send shockwaves across the tennis world.
Riske whiskers through tight first set
The American suffered a nervy start at the start of the first set as she was forced to save three break points in her opening service game, but she held her nerves to survive the game and prevent Giorgi from taking the early lead. Four consecutive holds of serve followed as both players were being very solid on their serves and none were able to find a breakthrough in their return games. The American finally found a break of serve in the seventh game when she saved a total of six game points to have the first break of service of the match. With the momentum running in her, Riske ran off with the first set as she earned another break of service once again to close out the first set 6-3.
Riske steers to victory
Riske started the second set perfectly and her groundstrokes were accurate and consistent, which allowed her to get the early advantage in the second set after winning the first eight points to start the set with. It looked like it was game over for the Italian after Riske once again managed to hold her serve comfortably to consolidate the break of service and look to run away with the match. Despite the lack of success in the return games, Giorgi threatened to break back straight in her next return game after managing to take it to deuce for just the second time in the whole match. The Italian failed to capitalize on the good opportunity as Riske maintained her composure to hold her serve and keep her lead intact. A disappointing end to the match for Giorgi then saw Riske serve out the match successfully to reach her second consecutive final at the Shenzhen Open.
Match Statistics
It was a disappointing serving performance for Giorgi despite serving more aces than double faults for the third time in four matches, something which was very unexpected considering the Italian is very inconsistent on her serve. Serving just 54% of first serves in certainly did not help Giorgi during the match as first-service are very important in this hard-hitting match, and winning only 63% of first service points would be little as compared to Riske’s 79%. Giorgi failed to take her chances well after wasting the three break points she earned in her opening return game and was unable to earn a single chance to break as the match progressed. Whereas, the American converted on three of her four break point chances which were crucial statistics in deciding the outcome of the match.
Riske progresses to the final
The American progressed to the final of the Shenzhen Open and so she managed to defend the finalist points that was carried over from last year. A second WTA title in China for Riske would see her rise to a ranking of 37, which would be a new career-high ranking for her. She faces a tough opponent in Katerina Siniakova, who has already defeated two top 10 players this week in Simona Halep and Johanna Konta. Furthermore, Riske lost to the Czech in their only previous meeting at the Tokyo International where the Czech triumphed in straight sets. With both players playing their best tennis this week, they would definitely want to end it with a title which would get them a career-high ranking and a perfect start to the new year.