Fiona Ferro advanced to the final of the W75 in Manama, Bahrain. The player from the French Riviera benefited from a withdrawal in the quarterfinal before defeating Arantxa Rus in a marathon match in two sets.
After two and a half years of waiting, Fiona Ferro is back in the final of a tournament. Her last qualification at this stage of an international competition dates back to August 20, 2023, in Barranquilla against German player Tatjana Maria. Since then, Fiona Ferro’s career has largely been marked by challenging times on all fronts. Tomorrow, she will play another career final in Manama, the capital of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Admittedly, it is only a W75, but it does not matter, because a final is still a final.
Even though the player from Valbonne benefited from the withdrawal of Claire Liu in the quarterfinals, she still had to battle against American Jenna Defalco in the qualifiers, then against Erika Andreeva, and finally Ekaterine Gorgodze. For her fourth match of the week, the Frenchwoman faced an old acquaintance from the circuit, Dutch player Arantxa Rus (35 years old, world No. 133). A player who spent over ten years in the top 100 (best ranking 41st).
The two players had faced each other four times in their careers with an undisputed record of four victories, all in two sets, for the Dutchwoman. It was time for the Maralpine to seek revenge, showing good form at the start of the tournament. Add to that the two days of rest due to the quarterfinal withdrawal, and Fiona Ferro was ready to break the curse.
A never-ending first set
Although starting out was somewhat challenging, Fiona Ferro managed to play to her strengths in return to overcome a poor start to the match. As the games progressed, her service difficulties decreased, and the player from the French Riviera found her rhythm in a very tight match. Both players remained focused on their service until the start of the 8th game. Always a critical moment in a set, Fiona Ferro pressured her opponent into errors and put pressure on her serve. After saving three break points, Arantxa Rus eventually cracked, giving the Frenchwoman a break lead. Serving for the first set’s win and managing to earn three set points, Fiona Ferro was soon disappointed, allowing the Dutchwoman to break back. A frustrating situation but not alarming. The Maralpine regained composure and secured the tiebreak, dominating it 7-3 after already over an hour and a half of play (7-6).
Less active at the start of the second set, Arantxa Rus was overwhelmed by Fiona Ferro, who continued pushing by capitalizing on her greater physical freshness. The Valbonnaise quickly gained the upper hand 4-0 and simply managed the rest of the match.
Final score (7-6/6-3) for Fiona Ferro, who will face tomorrow in the final the winner of the match between Carol Youngsuh Lee and Alina Korneeva.
