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Romanian tennis player Monica Niculescu has won the WTA tournament in Luxembourg on Saturday, after defeating Petra Kvitova (The Czech Republic), the main favorite, in the finals, by 6-4, 6-0.
Niculescu, #50 WTA, won in one hour and eight minutes against one of the top tennis players in the world, Petra Kvitova, a two-time winner in Wimbledon and currently ranked 11 in the world.
The Romanian tennis player started with a break, led by 2-0, with Kvitova closing soon after, but then Niculescu broke off and took the lead to 4-1. Kvitova enjoyed a short return and closed in at 4-3, but the Romanian player pressed on to 5-3, unfortunately losing two opportunities at the set point. Kvitova managed to finally win her service for 5-4, but Niculescu closed the set at 6-4 after 38 minutes.
Monica Niculescu dominated the second set and Kvitova proved to be not much of a hindrance. After a break in the opening game, Niculescu took the lead with 2-0 denying three set points to make it 1-1. The Romanian went on to 3-0, then had an unopposed service, with the set point at 6-0 being won easily.
Niculescu will receive a cheque for 34,677 euro and 280 WTA points.
On the other hand, Monica Niculescu lost the doubles’ title of the same tournament, together with Romanian Patricia Tig. The two faced off in the final against second favorites Kiki Bertens (the Netherlands) and Johanna Larsson (Sweden).
Monica Niculescu’s highest WTA ranking is no. 28 in singles, reached on February 27, 2012, and no. 16 in doubles, reached on 31 July 2016.
She was born in Slatina, southern Romania, but moved to Bucharest when she was four. Monica is currently coached by Călin Stelian Ciorbagiu.
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