The new wunderkind of women’s tennis, 16-year-old Croat Donna Vekic, came of age with a mature, big-hitting performance against former champion Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia to reach the final of the AEGON Classic at the Edgbaston Priory Club, Birmingham.
As she clubbed down a string of booming forehand winners, it was hard to believe this was her first senior grasscourt event. Currently ranked a lowly 88 in the world, she upset the seedings for the third time this week to reach the second WTA Tour final in her fledgling career.
In the quarter-final, she put out the highly-fancied third seed Sorana Cirstea for the loss of just three games, having already demolished 8th seed Ursula Radwanska.
The stylish Rybarikova, who had claimed the scalp of top seed Kirsten Flipkens in the previous round, pushed Vekic all the way, attacking the net on anything short of a length and hitting for the lines while the teenager responded with some outstanding court coverage and a willingness to chase down even seeming winners. Her serve, normally a major weapon, at times looked tentative as she struggled to control it in the swirling wind. However a rain break towards the end of the second set which allowed her to glean some timely advice from her British coach David Felgate, formerly Tim Henman’s mentor, proved the turning point, even though she lost the set.
"I wasn't serving very well” she admitted “and so after that I tried to get a higher percentage (of first serves) in. It helped. I was also nervous, but now I am very excited about reaching the final. I don't want to think about it too much though now."
She brushed aside obvious comparisons with the young Maria Sharapova, cannily observing
"That's very nice but she has her career and I have my career,"
Many tennis insiders believe she has even more potential than the Russian superstar at the same age. Both are tall and rangy with a willingness to go for broke even on the biggest points but Vekic’s fluent, naturally powerful serve is far more of a weapon than Sharapova’s and with her explosive movement and flexibility, she already looks more at home on damp, skiddng grass than the former Wimbledon champion ever has.
Vekic, the youngest woman in the world’s top 100 now meets one of the Tour’s veterans, 30-year-old Daniela Hantuchova who has survived several close calls this week and belied her world ranking of 60, beating the seeded Francesca Schiavone in the quarters and then fighting back from a set down against the gritty American qualifier Alison Riske in their rain-affected semi-final. Hantuchova, a former world number 5, played with renewed self-belief to reach her first final for 18 months and afterwards confessed
"I was a little bit unlucky in the first set but I am really happy that I turned it around."
She is well aware that she faces a tough threat from Vekic and paid tribute to the youngster’s extraordinary run of form, admitting "She is having a really good week. She has beaten some really good players and grass obviously suits her game too." It makes for an intriguing match-up and should provide crucial clues about Vekic’s ability to keep calm under pressure against a highly experienced opponent – and her prospects of a similar giant-killing run at Wimbledon which starts in a week's time.
