Danka Kovinić beat Russian Margarita Gasparyan in straight sets 7-5, 6-3 in the final of the EMPIRE Slovak Open 2015 in Trnava on Sunday to lift her first trophy of the season.
Strong wind made it difficult for both players. Gasparyan had better start into the game, but she failed to finish off the first set, despite quickly taking the lead 2-0 and being 5-3 games up serving for the set. Montenegrin player needed time to adapt to the conditions and she managed to grab the first set with a four games winning streak.
"It was extremely difficult match. Margarita was playing better than me in the beginning. Strong wind made it difficult on serve, changed the direction of the balls. I really wanted to win this one. Despite not ideal start into the game, I stayed calm, tried not to show negative emotions," Danka Kovinić described her final match.
Second set was as close as the first one. Kovinić managed to break her opponent in the eighth game to take the lead 5-3 in the set and serve for the match with the wind in her back. Together with the trophy, winner received prize money as high as 15 200 USD. "When it was 3-4 in second set and she was serving, I said to myself, come on Danka, you have to break her now. Then you will serve with the wind and have a good chance to finish the match," claimed Kovinić in her post match interview on the centre court.
Kovinic: Gasparyan has great forehand
Both players showed their qualities. Danka did not forget to praise her opponent after her second head to head win over Margarita Gasparyan: "She has great forehand. Powerful strokes from all over the court."
"Today I'm flying to Belgrade and on Monday I am already travelling to Paris. I will play at the ITF event there as part of my preparations for Roland Garros. I can not tell yet, if I will be in the main draw or I will have to start in the qualifying. But with the points from this tournament I made it probably to the main draw of the Wimbledon," concluded satisfied Danka Kovinić. With 140 points from EMPIRE Slovak Open, Podgorica born player will reach her career high, TOP 70, in the next weeks WTA rankings.