Russia’s Timofeeva wins Hungarian Open as lucky loser, beating Ukraine’s Baindl in final

Maria Timofeeva is the latest young Russian to make a name for herself as she beat Ukrainian Kateryna Baindl 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 to lift the Hungarian Open trophy in her maiden WTA-level main-draw appearance.

In what is one of the stories of the week, 19-year-old Timofeeva entered the main draw in Budapest as a lucky loser, having lost in the final round of qualifying to Anna Siskova on a third-set tiebreak.

Ranked all the down at 246th in the world, the teenager made the very best of a golden and unexpected opportunity to appear in her first ever WTA-level event.

En route to the final Timofeeva consistently punhced well above her weight in ranking by defeating Australian Daria Saville (2-6, 6-3, 6-4), Diana Shnaider (6-1, 6-1), Slovenian qualifier Kaja Juvan (3-6, 6-3, 6-2) and Argentinian Nadia Podoroska (7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-3) on her way to a hugely impressive final berth.

Once in the showpiece event, Timofeeva put on a mature and sophisticated display to win her first WTA title at the very first time of asking, overwhelming her Ukrainian opponent in the deciding set to clinch the match and the Hungarian Open crown in just over two hours.

Lucky Loser ➡️ Maiden Title

Timofeeva makes her WTA main draw debut and outlasts Baindl to win the @BudapestWta title! 🏆 #HUNGP23 pic.twitter.com/jEl8WP5dmY

— wta (@WTA) July 23, 2023

It had been a promising week for Baindl as well. Ranked 100 in the world, there was little expectation for the Ukrainian to go far in the tournament. She defeated three consecutive Hungarian wildcards in Natalia Szabani, Amarissa Toth and Fanny Stollar, before upsetting American Claire Liu (7-5, 7-6 (3)) to reach the final.

Nevertheless, she was still the heavy favourite against Timofeeva – such was the inexperience of the teenage Russian.

But it was the world No 246’s day, earning a landmark win at the first time of asking to further underline Russia’s extraordinary strength in depth when it comes to young female tennis talent.

“This is all very new to me, and it feels like a dream, because normally I shouldn’t be here, but here I am,” Timofeeva said during her winner’s speech after the match.

“I’m just so happy and thankful.”

A result for the history books

Timofeeva is the first lucky loser to win a WTA Tour singles title since Coco Gauff won Linz in 2019 as a 15-year-old lucky loser. The last time a WTA player won their first singles title on their tour-level main-draw debut was in 2001, when Indonesia’s Angelique Widjaja won her first tournament in Bali.

Opportunities to play in more WTA Tour-level events will open up for the 19-year-old, and she is next set to be in action at the German Open, which starts tomorrow.

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