Transylvania Open: Anna Blinkova caps off euphoric week with title in Cluj-Napoca

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Anna Blinkova won the 2022 Transylvania Open on Sunday. In the final, she defeated Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 after 101 minutes. This is Blinkova’s maiden career title. Blinkova hit five aces and seven double faults while Paolini had none.

Paolini also put in 85% of her first serves to Blinkova’s 51%. But where Blinkova won 80% of her first-serve points, Paolini won only 53%. Blinkova also lost her serve thrice in the match but went on to convert six break points on her opponent’s serve.

Blinkova also had 35 winners, a dozen more than Paolini’s 23 and 22 unforced errors, two more than the latter’s 20. For the match, Blinkova won 80 points, 16 more than Paolini’s 64.

Transylvania Open: Anna Blinkova's first trophy

Post winning the title, the 24-year-old said, “I’m feeling so good, and I cannot even describe my emotions because I just finished a very tough match.

Actually, all the matches were very tough, and I’m extremely happy to be able to go through all the challenges and stay mentally strong and mentally stable”. The match between Paolini and Blinkova was the fifth time the two were playing each other.

Both players had won two matches each. Earlier, Blinkova had made it to the main draw after having come through the qualifiers. In fact, she’s the fifth player this year who’s won the title after getting through the qualifying draw.

The most recent player to have done so was Caroline Garcia who won the Cincinnati Open, prior to the US Open. Following her Transylvania Open run, Anna Blinkova made her way back into the top-100 ranking on Monday. Earlier, she was ranked 138th in the world and now, post-title, she’s ranked 79th.

This is still 25 places removed from her previous career-high of no. 54 that she attained in 2020, in February. Photo Credit: Transylvania Open Twitter