Vondrousova stuns Sabalenka to reach Berlin Open final

Aryna Sabalenka defeated world number one Marketa Vondrousova to reach her first final since winning the 2023 Wimbledon title.

Vondrousova, who has been recovering from shoulder surgery and is ranked 164th in the world, defeated Wang Xinyu 6-2,6-4 in Sunday’s showpiece in Germany.

“I didn’t play for a while,” I said. On the WTA Tour website, Czech Vondrousova stated, “I’m just happy to be back in good health and so grateful to play these games.”

“I was like, OK, let’s just try to win the first round,” I thought as I saw the field, and then, you know, this is happening.”

Sabalenka saved two break points in the opening set, but she was again denied in the second service match, leading 5-2 going in the second set.

Vondrousova responded immediately after asking to lead 2-0 in the second, which was the three-time Grand Slam champion.

The set remained on serve until 25-year-old Vondrousova broke for 5-4, and the match was then ended in a tense scrap.

Wang won the other semi-final 6-4 6-1 over 2021 Berlin Open champion Liudmila Samsonova to reach her first WTA singles final.

Daniil Medvedev fought back from world number three Alexander Zverev to win 7-6 (7-3) 6-7 (1-7) 6-4 in a grass-court competition in the lead up to Wimbledon and advance to the Halle Open final on Sunday.

After beating eighth seed Karen Khachanov 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4, Medvedev will face world number 45 Alexander Bublik in a semifinal match.

World No. 11 Medvedev wasted three match points in the second set and took three hours and one minute to complete the task after facing Zverev in a tie-break.

Medvedev said, “I’m happy with my level, I played great.”

In the second set, “I would have loved to finish on the match points.” I attempted it first, but I was disappointed.

He made a great point in the second one, so I waited a little while while he made the first one. I’m happy to ultimately prevail.

Medvedev needed medical attention for a nosebleed at 4-4 in the opening set, as was the case with his quarter-final victory on Friday.