Kostovic reaches WTA 125 final in Ankara — career-best ranking guaranteed

Serbian tennis player Teodora Kostovic has qualified for the final of the WTA 125 tournament in Ankara. The 19-year-old defeated Russia’s Polina Iatchenko 7–5, 7–5 in the semifinal, in a match full of twists that tested her composure to the very end.

The first set was decided in the twelfth game: Kostovic failed to convert a set point at 5–4 but came back strong to close the set. In the second set the Serbian lost two consecutive break points, allowing Iatchenko to take a 5–4 lead. But Kostovic broke straight back and, at 6–5, after the most beautiful rally of the match, earned two match points — converting the second into victory with a winning return.

In the final, Kostovic will face the winner of the all-Turkish Dilek–Cengiz duel. The tournament’s prize fund is $115,000: the final brings $8,400, while the title is rewarded with $15,500.

The success in Ankara already guarantees Kostovic a career-best ranking. The player, currently No. 159 in the WTA rankings, is projected at No. 139 from Monday, and a possible title would lift her as high as No. 131.

Her summer has been extraordinary: she debuted in the main draw of a Grand Slam at Wimbledon, where she faced Aryna Sabalenka, won the Amstetten challenger, and about ten days ago played her first WTA quarterfinal in São Paulo. Now the final in Ankara brings her even closer to the elite of world tennis, as Danas reports.