Kalinina continues clay form with third title of 2021 in Montpellier
Anhelina Kalinina continued her fine clay form in 2021 as she claimed her third title of the year on the ITF World Tennis Tour at W60 Montpellier.
The 24-year-old Ukrainian defeated Mayar Sherif 6-2 6-3 in the final in the South of France to win her 13th ITF singles title, 12th on clay, and add to her wins at W25 Oeiras and W60 Zagreb in April.
Kalinina has compiled a 22-3 win-loss record on clay this year – a remarkable return for someone who says she ‘prefers hard courts’.
Victory in Montpellier saw Kalinina match her career-best title-win, three months after achieving her first tournament victory at W60 level in Zagreb when she defeated Russian Kamilla Rakhimova in the title match.
Kalinina narrowly missed out on a place in the Wimbledon main draw this fortnight after falling to Vitalia Diatchenko in the final round of the qualifying event at Roehampton, but it is on clay that she has looked most at home.
The Ukrainian, who is coached by her husband (former junior player Anton Korchevskyi), qualified for Roland Garros for the first time in June and went on to stun three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber in the first round. Danielle Collins ultimately curtailed her hopes of a dream run in Paris in round two.
Elsewhere on the ITF World Tennis Tour last week, Dutchwoman Quirine Lemoine, Spaniard Rebeka Masarova, and Frenchwoman Chole Paquet all triumphed at W25 level, raising titles in The Hague, Palma del Rio, and Wroclaw respectively.
Elizabeth Mandlik, the daughter of four-time Grand Slam champion Hana Mandlikova, secured her first piece of silverware since 2019 after winning at W15 Monastir.
The 20-year-old American, who spoke about the pressures of having such a successful mum (and coach) in 2019, won her third career ITF singles crown after overcoming a first-set bagel to defeat Angelica Raggi in three sets.
Darja Semenistaja also enjoyed a memorable week, clinching her first professional singles title at W15 Prokuplje in Serbia.
The 18-year-old Latvian, who had never been beyond the quarter-finals at an ITF tournament, made the most of her junior reserved entry to defeat Frenchwoman Alice Robbe in the final.
Romanian Ilona Georgiana Ghioroaie completed the list of women’s winners last week, winning her 14th ITF singles crown with her second triumph in her last three tournaments in Antalya.
The ITF World Tennis Tour continues with seven tournaments this week, headlined by clay events at W100 Contrexeville and W60 Amstelveen. Follow the latest results here.