By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, March 20, 2021
Firing a final forehand winner, Margarita Gasparyan flung her Wilson racquet aside and covered her face with her hands in elation.
In a tense clash of Russian wild cards, a gutsy Gasparyan continued her dream run powering into her biggest career final at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Kasatkina: Small Details Making Big Difference
Gasparyan denied four set points in the tiebreaker outdueling 36-year-old Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 7-6(9) to reach her first 500-level final and continue her quest to become the first wild card champion in tournament history.
Down 4-6 in the tiebreaker, the Moscow-born baseliner banged a forehand winner crosscourt to save the first set point and dodged the second set point when Zvonareva netted a forehand return off a tame second serve. Holding a third set point at 7-6, Zvonareva narrowly missed a a backhand down the line wide. Gasparyan hit another forehand winner denying the fourth set point to level, 9-9.
What a moment for Margarita Gasparyan 🥲Closes out a tense tiebreak to reach the BIGGEST WTA final of her career!#FormulaTX pic.twitter.com/u7gBUxUgfK
— wta (@WTA) March 20, 2021
Former world No. 2 Zvonareva hit her third double fault to give Gasparyan a second match point.
In a pulsating 19-shot rally, neither woman held back. Gasparyan opened the court with a crosscourt backhand then stepped in and rapped the final forehand winner ending a tough one hour, 59-minute test in stirring style.
It’s been a historic week in St. Petersburg. For the first time in tournament history seven of the eight quarterfinals were Russian. Today’s play marked the first time in WTA history all four semifinalists are Russian ensuring the first Russian champion in St. Petersburg history.
A day after toppling top-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova in the quarterfinals, the 6′ Gasparyan came out crunching baseline drives breaking in the opening game to spark a 3-1 lead.
The pair exchanged five straight breaks as Gasparyan scored her fourth break to take a one-set lead.