The red-hot Alycia Parks takes on the experienced Anna-Lena Friedsam in the finals of the WTA Angers Arena Loire Open on Sunday.
The 21-year-old Serena Williams fan is making all the right noises toward the end of the season. She has forced tennis fans to sit up and take notice of her fantabulously fiery performances in her last few tournaments. Parks is currently on a 9-match winning streak and one win short of winning two WTA 125 events on the trot.
Parks has made it to her fourth final in 2022. Her first appearance in the final this season came at an ITF event in the USA in February. She lost to the experienced Tatjana Maria in the final. Her second appearance in a final came at another ITF event in the USA in March. This time she was bettered by Rebecca Marino. Parks’ third appearance in a final this year came at the WTA Andorra Open that took place just prior to her arrival in Angers. She went on to win the title by defeating Rebecca Peterson in a lopsided final.
Parks began her campaign in Angers with a thumping victory against top seed Zhang Shuai. The Chinese veteran had no answer to the aggressive style of the youngster. In the round of 16, Parks continued to showcase her dominance as she got the better of Jaqueline Cristian in a one-sided win in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. The American talent faced Marketa Vondrousova in the quarters. The 2019 French Open runner-up suffered a 6-1, 7-6 (7-3) loss at the hands of Parks. France’s Jessika Ponchet is the latest player to go down against Parks. Ponchet got off to a good start and won the first set. However, her opponent bounced back strongly to win the match 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4. Parks has fired in a total of 61 aces in the tournament so far and her spectacular serves have given her a huge advantage over her opponents.
The experienced German has been in fine form herself. She came into the tournament on the back of a run to the finals at the WTA 125 event in Midland, USA. She failed to win the final but has the chance to win the title this time around. Friedsam has not dropped a set as yet in the tournament. She has played with tremendous confidence and looked quite sorted both tactically and technically.
It is interesting to note that the 28-year-old couldn’t make it to any final through the year until the tournament in Midland.
She began her campaign in the WTA Angers Arena Loire Open with a solid win against France’s Diane Parry. Friedsam outclassed Parry in a one-sided contest that ended 6-3, 6-2. Friedsam played against Belgium’s Magali Kempen in the round of 16. Kempen didn’t help her cause as she committed as many as 8 double faults. She eventually lost the match 1-6, 6-7 (8-10). Friedsam went on to defeat the French qualifier Emeline Dartron in the quarterfinals. Dartron was having a fairytale run in the tournament but Friedsam gave her a really tough time and eventually got the better of her in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. The semi-final clash was an interesting proposition as the red-hot Friedsam was set to face second seed Anhelina Kalinina. The Ukrainian athlete was in good form as well. Friedsam fought hard and showed great determination to take the first set after winning the tiebreak. In the second set, Friedsam produced a dominant display and eventually finished the match 7-6 (8-6), 6-3. She will have to use all her tactical expertise against Parks who has been in sublime form. The experience of Friedsam might come in handy as well.
Alycia Parks has a win against Anna-Lena Friedsam. The head-to-head scoreline stands at 1-0 in favor of Parks. The American talent defeated Friedsam in the round of 32 of the Ladies Open Lausanne in 2021 in three sets. She also has a win against Friedsam this year at a qualifier of the Ostrava Open in October. Parks defeated Friedsam in straight sets in that match.
Prediction: Alycia Parks to win in three sets.
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