The fifth match ball led to promotion. Coffee is better than the previous runner-up in the WTA rankings

Katarzyna Kawa The fourth Polish racket in the WTA rankings, Today it ranks 189th on the global list. This is not a bad situation, as it was lower than last year at this time, but the 31-year-old may also feel dissatisfied.

The beginning of the year was not very successful for her, and it was difficult to count on the fact that she would get the opportunity to replace Iga Svetek in the United Cup. But in his next three appearances – Australian Open, Hua Hin in Austin -She couldn't even pass the qualifications. Only one win in four matches. And you didn't play against players who were in the top 100 in the rankings…

The Pole made his exact return to competition after a month-long break – to top it all off She chose clay over hard courts. Last fall, she had perhaps her most valuable victory, in Monastir, beating Martina Trevisan, but her best points were on clay: in Bari, Ljubljana, Parma and Valencia. Today I finally broke through here.

At the WTA 125 competition in Antalya, the Pole had to start with qualifications, because she was her rival here Vera Zvonaryova. The 39-year-old Russian's best period has long passed. Once the second-best player in the world, she has already dropped to 103rd in the singles rankings. From one tournament to another, he faces more and more problems.

Let's not forget that she is a great doubles player, and has beaten… Laura Siegmund WTA Finals and Championships in Ningbo or Nanchang, and at the US Open they were in the final.

Today, the Pole played in waves, and after a bad start when her serve was broken at 1:2 and 2:3, she got back on track, winning the next four games and the entire set. It seems that it will be easier for her now, because the Russian also had big problems with her serve. For her, this was the first fight with a Polish tennis player – in singles or doubles – since last year's confusion in Warsaw, when She was not allowed to enter our country in July.

Zunariwa started the second set brilliantly, winning the first four games, and then quickly enjoyed leveling the match (6:1). However, as is often the case in women's tennis, changes in mood often occur on both sides of the net. The decisive match had barely begun Kawa managed to win 15 of the first 20 pointsShe was leading 3-0 and had two break points.

After that, things got a little tense, and the Russian won that match, breaking her serve, and one could fear a repeat of the second set. However, no such situation occurred, although the 31-year-old from Krynica Zdrój still had minor problems finishing the match. Only the fifth match ball was used and she advanced to the deciding qualifying round.

In the main draw, she will face Ukraine-born Carole Monet, who represents France, and who defeated Maja Chwalinska in Cyprus on Friday. Only to lose yesterday on the bike to her compatriot Louis Poisson.

The winner of this match will play in the first round against another qualifier, Japan's Moyoka Uchijima, or 15-year-old Ada Kumru of Turkey, who received a wild card.

Katarzyna Kawa (Poland, 4) – Wira Zunariowa (-) 6:3, 1:6, 6:2.