Birmingham | It’s a Tomljanovic v Putintseva final

The Rothesay Classic in Birmingham sees Yulia Putintseva and Ajla Tomljanovic in Sunday’s final play for the trophy after beating Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Anastasia Potapova respectively in the semi-finals at Edgbaston Priory Club on Saturday.

I certainly didn’t expect to play a final here. I’m really trying to take it one step at a time, as cliché as it is, I’ve never looked before. I’m not going to do that now either. I’ll do my best to prepare and give it my all and then when it’s over I’ll reflect on the week. But you know you’re in a good place when the player room is empty. Ajla Tomljanovic

Putintseva, the Russian-born Kazakh, won 6-2, 6-2 over Italy’s Cocciaretto, sending her into her first final on grass court, although she already has 2 career singles titles to her name.

She comfortably defeated the in-form Italian while 190th-ranked Tomljanovic knocked out the tournament’s only top seed, Anastasia Potapova of Russia, 7-6(5) 6-4.

The Australian, who returned from an eight-month layoff following an injury-ravaged 2023, recorded her biggest ranking win since November 2022 with a win over No. 7 seed Potapova.

Both Tomljanovic and Putintseva enjoyed their best times on grass last week, familiar with the fast nature of the surface.

Tomljanovic, 31, is a well-rounded grass-court player, her Grand Slam breakthrough coming at Wimbledon when she reached back-to-back quarter-finals in 2021 and 2022, while the Kazakh No. 2 previously went as far as the quarters of the final in Birmingham. back in 2019.

Tomljanovic also reached the quarter-finals of a former WTA 250 grass-court event at the Mallorca Open in 2018, where she eventually fell to then-Top 20-ranked Anastasija Sevastova.

The Australian has also finished runner-up in 4 WTA finals in her career, including a WTA 500 final in 2018, before climbing the rankings to reach a career-high world number 32 last April.

This season, her comeback trail from injury was abandoned due to surgery in February, which led to her spending little time on court until her Paris opener.

Meanwhile, Putintseva’s decorated career rose to world No. 27 following her run at the WTA 500 St Petersburg in 2017, just missing out on the title in 3 sets to eventual world No. 1 Kristina Mladenovic.

The 29-year-old’s first piece of silverware came in 2019, winning a WTA 250 title in Nuremberg, before capturing her second at the Hungarian Grand Prix two years later.

Putintseva’s streak in the Midlands comes after reaching the quarter-finals at 2 WTA 1000 events this year, including the Miami and Madrid Open.

Yulia Putintseva demolished in-form Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the last 4 to reach her first grass court final in Birmingham

© Darren Staples/AFP via Getty Images

Tomljanovic’s resurgence continues as she survived a tense first set and then broke Potapova in the final game of the match to advance, marking her first appearance in a WTA-level final at Pattaya City in February 2019, and will now bid to win her first. career title.

“Playing on Sunday is always special because you really want to win but at the same time you want to enjoy the moment,” said the 31-year-old. “So I really hope tomorrow will be one to remember.

“I don’t really want to think about it, you know, it’s my, I don’t know what number, final and I haven’t won a title yet, but it will definitely play a bit of a part tomorrow. “

Tomljanovic becomes the third Australian in the Birmingham Classic final, following Jenny Byrne in 1992 and Ash Barty in 2017 and 2019.

“I feel very happy,” Tomljanovic continued. “I didn’t really come into this week with a lot of expectations, but I had full confidence that I could play really good tennis here, so I’m very pleased to have reached the final.

“I’ve learned that on grass you can get humiliated very quickly, so I try not to think too much about how well I’m playing or how bad I’m playing – I try to stay level and take each match as a new one. .

“But I think it’s good to go into tournaments having won a lot of matches before, for sure.

“Wimbledon is where I definitely want to peak. If I don’t win tomorrow, at least maybe it’ll be like, I’ll do well there.”

Ajla Tomljanovic survived a tense first set before beating Anastasia Potapova in the semi-finals

© Cameron Smith/Getty Images for LTA

Tomljanovic has to face the diminutive Kazakh, who leads his head-to-head 4-1, with the Aussie’s only success coming in Adelaide in 2020.

Former no. The world 32 plays in Birmingham in a protected ranking and has made significant progress back into the top 100 this week, rising from 190 to the mid-130s, while a jump to one place between 110 and 120 is on top. cards if she beats Putintseva.

“I definitely didn’t expect to play a final here,” Tomljanovic said. “I really try to take it one game at a time, as cliché as it is, I’ve never looked ahead. I’m not going to do that now either.

“I’ll do my best to prepare and give it my all and then when it’s over I’ll reflect on the week. But you know you’re in a good place when the players’ room is empty.”