Liutova, Vidmanova advance to Memphis Classic championship
After a week of battling the heat and thunderstorms, the semifinal singles matches in the first WTA Memphis Classic were played on a beautiful Saturday at Leftwich Tennis Center.
Sixteen-year-old Russian Kristina Liutova defeated American Elvina Kalieva in the first semifinal of the day. Liutova won 7-5, 6-1, in a match that lasted 1:38.
Both Liutova and Kalieva had defeated two seeded players on their way to the semifinals. Liutova defeated No. 1 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova and No. 6 Caty McNally. Kalieva beat fourth-seeded Zeynep Sonmez and seventh-seeded Peyton Stearns.
In the second semifinal, Czech Darja Vidmanova beat Mexico’s Renata Zarazua, 6-3, 6-3, in a match that went 1:31.
Liutova and Vidmanova will play at 12:30 p.m. in Sunday’s championship match, with the champion earning $37,390.