By Adrianna Outlaw | Friday, October 1, 2021
Top-seeded Yulia Putintseva repelled Rebecca Peterson 6-2, 6-4 reaching her second final of the season at the Astana Open in Nur-Sultan.
Photo credit: Kazakhstan Tennis Federation/Astana Open Facebook
Yulia Putintseva is loving life at the top in her homecoming.
The top-seeded Putintseva repelled Rebecca Peterson 6-2, 6-4 charging into her second final of the season at the Astana Open in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.
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It is the fifth career final for Putintseva, who captured her second WTA title on the red clay of Budapest in July.
Putintseva, who was born in Moscow but represents Kazakhstan, thrilled home fans setting up a No. 1 vs. No. 2 final vs. second-seeded Alison Van Uytvanck in tomorrow's final.
Earlier, the 89th-ranked Belgian beat Jaqueline Cristian 6-3, 6-3 to advance to her fifth career final. Van Uytvanck, who is undefeated in four career WTA finals, is playing for her first title since the 2019 Budapest.
The Putintseva-Van Uytvanck final is a rematch of the Australian Open second round, which Putintseva won 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 last February. Overall, Putintseva leads the head-to-head series over Van Uytvanck, 4-0.
Playing with urgency, Putintseva surged out to 5-1 leads in both sets against Peterson.
The 5'4" Putintseva relied on her placement, finesse and sharp court sense displacing the sixth-seeded Swede from the baseline. Putintseva saved six of eight break points raising her 2021 record to 30-21, including 16-11 on hard courts.