It was tense today in Makarska. Petra Martić did not give up and played a great match with defending champion Mayar Sherif, but she was unable to win.
When she arrived in Makarska, she told tournament director Feliks Lukas that she had come to win. And she wasn't kidding. From the first day, Mayar Sherif played well at the WTA Makarska Open and reached the final.
In the semi-finals, she defeated our Petra Martić in a tense game and thus extinguished the hopes of the Croatian fans that the Croatian representative would play in the final of the tournament.
On the eve of the semi-final match, golden handball Olympian Petar Metličić appeared on the court and threw a coin and brought luck to our representative. Petra chose Mayar to serve first.
The best Egyptian tennis player started strongly and at the beginning it seemed that Petra had no chance, but the Croatian tennis player successfully turned the game around and won the first set 6:4. However, Mayar never gives up, so the second set ended with a score of 6:3 for the Egyptian. In the third match, it seemed for a moment that Petra could win, but in the end she won Sherif with 6:4.
"I am happy to be in the WTA Makarska Open final again. I can't wait to play tomorrow. I wanted to stay in Makarska as long as possible because the beaches are beautiful", said Sherif shortly after the match.
In the final, she will play against the American Katie Volynets, who in an excellent semi-final match defeated the Chinese tennis player Xiya Wang 6:4, 6:3.
Sabrina Santamaria and Iryna Shymanovich celebrated in the doubles final, who played excellently and defeated Nao Hibino and Oksana Kalashnikova in a super tiebreak with 10-6.
"It was a great week. This is a wonderful tournament and I would like to thank all the sponsors, director, volunteers, ball collectors, organizers for taking good care of us in Makarska. Also, I thank Iryna who played with me. I can't wait to return to Makarska", said Santamaria.
The trophy was presented to the finalists by the deputy mayor of Makarska, Antonia Radić Brkan, and the winners were celebrated by tennis player Iva Majoli, the only Croatian winner of the Gram Slam tournament, who celebrated 27 years since the famous victory at the time of the WTA Makarska Open.
If you are not in Makarska and cannot watch the final on Sunday, June 9, from 20:00, it will be broadcast live on Sportklub and HRT.
Photo by Bogdan Klarić
Makarska, June 8, 2024.
