For a player that has yet to advance beyond the last eight of a major, Anett Kontaveit is in some very exclusive company these days.
Kontaveit, who edged a three-hour marathon against top seed Maria Sakkari 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 to clinch the St Petersburg Ladies Trophy, has now won 20 indoor matches in succession, a feat last achieved by Justine Henin between 2007 and 2010. Since 1989, the only other players to compile comparable indoor streaks were Jana Novotna, Lindsay Davenport, Monica Seles and Steffi Graf. It is quite the roll call of grand slam champions and former world No 1s.
Kontaveit has much to do if she is truly to belong in such company, but she is nonetheless putting together some impressive statistics of her own. This was the Estonian’s fourth successive indoor title – and fifth in all since last August – and it lifts her to a career-high ranking of sixth. The challenge now for the 26-year-old, who suffered a disappointing loss to the Danish teenager Clara Tauson in the second round of the Australian Open, is to reproduce that outstanding form on the game’s grander stages.
“I think I definitely have to write some targets down on paper and just sort of go through what has happened, and what I have yet to achieve,” said Kontaveit, who demonstrated her ability to live with the elite with a run to the title round at last season’s WTA Finals.
“I think there’s so much more that I can do still, and I think that definitely is keeping me motivated.”
Kontaveit needed all the inspiration at her disposal to subdue Sakkari, who came out swinging as she went in pursuit of what would have been only her second WTA title. The Estonian survived an early break point courtesy of the net tape, but edged ahead in the sixth game, smoking a backhand pass before outsteadying Sakkari to claim the first break. She went on to establish a 5-2 lead, but Sakkari refused to be bowed, crafting a stunning reflex volley to create the impetus for an immediate break back.
Sakkari had toiled for over three hours to defeat Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania in the semi-finals, but the Greek remains one of the finest athletes in the women’s game and there was no hint of fatigue as she clawed her way back into the contest. As she slowly grew in stature, so Kontaveit faded, double faulting twice at 5-5 as she went on to finish the set with 23 unforced errors.
An early break in the second stretched Sakkari’s run to seven straight games, but Kontaveit, as she has done so often over the past six months, dug in and found a way. Having missed a set point at 6-5, she claimed the second set with some clutch serving in the tiebreak. She again came from behind to clinch the decider, recovering from 5-2 down as Sakkari floundered.
“The score didn’t look great in the third set, I was down 5-2, but I just kept telling myself that if she wins this, if she beats me, it’s too good on the day,” said the second-seeded Kontaveit. “I just felt like I had to try everything I could, fight as hard as I could, and just do the best that I can.”
The worry for Sakkari must be that defeats of this nature are becoming a little too familiar. At Roland Garros last year, the Greek faltered after holding a match point against Barbora Krejcikova in what was her first major semi-final. Sakkari, who works with a psychologist, has acknowledged that there is scope for improvement, and went on to demonstrate her mental fortitude by reaching the US Open semi-finals. Yet she subsequently lost to Kontaveit in the Ostrava final, and was again denied by the Estonian in the last four of the WTA Finals after leading by a break in the decider. Sakkari’s battle against her inner demons promises to be one of the season’s most intriguing subplots.
“I think, you know, thinking of the finish line, and thinking of being just three points away from the trophy, I just actually couldn’t close the match because I got a little bit too emotional and too tight and too stressed,” said Sakkari. “But I guess it’s a learning process and I’m sure next time it will be better.”
A fascinating rivalry has developed between these two good friends, whose mutual warmth was evident in the embrace they shared at the end. Kontaveit’s latest success moves her 7-6 ahead in their personal series, but in truth each has something to learn from the other. It has been almost three years since Sakkari last lifted a trophy, yet Kontaveit endured a four-year lean spell following her first title in Rosmalen and has gone on to become a winning machine. For her part, the Estonian will hope to emulate Sakkari by making deeper runs at the majors. Both, you feel, will get there.