Last week, Andrea Hlavackova (RQiS 2 Tour, PTGP125), winner of 13 WTA Doubles titles, became runner up in the singles event at the Nurnberger Gastein Ladies Tournament in Bad Gastein, Austria.
In the semifinals, Andrea faced Elina Svitolina—the Ukrainian player who defeated No. 6 seed Chanelle Scheepers in the second round. Andrea would need to make twenty break chances and capture eleven break points in order to win the tough marathon match with Svitolina. Andrea was the victor of the match, which lasted two and a half hours and ended with a 7-5, 6-7(1), 6-4 score line. This allowed Andrea to advance to a WTA singles final for the first time in her career.
VCORE player Juan Monaco (VCORE Xi 98)(ARG) competed as defending champion in the bet-at-home Open in Hamburg, Germany. Even though Juan fell short of the semifinals, he did defeat Benoit Paire of France—No. 9 seed and quarterfinalist in the Australian Open earlier this year with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 victory.