Estonia's Ingrid Neel into semi-finals of WTA 500 Stuttgart Open
Estonian tennis player Ingrid Neel and her doubles partner Ulrikke Eikeri defeated Anastassia Potapova and Vera Zvonareva 3-6, 6-4, 10-3 in the WTA 500 Stuttgart Open. Neel and Eikeri will now face Barbora Krejčíková (Czechia) and Laura Siegemund (Germany) in the semi-finals.
After losing the first set 3-6, Neel and Eikeri fought back to take the second set 6-4. In the deciding set, the Estonian-Norwegian dup took a 5-0 lead, from which their opponents were unable to recover.
23-year-old Potapova, who is currently 21st in the WTA (Women's Tennis Association) singles rankings, reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in doubles last year. Her partner, 39-year-old Zvonareva reached a career-best of WTA No. 2 at the height of her career. Both Potapova and Zvonareva currently compete under a neutral flag.
Eikeri and Neel will be in for a tough contest in the semi-finals against Barbora Krejčíková (Czechia) and Laura Siegemund (Germany). Krejčíková is regarded as one of the best women's doubles players of all time, having won seven Grand Slams so far (Two Australian Opens, Two French Opens, One U.S. Open and two Wimbledon titles). She also won doubles Olympic gold in 2020.
Neel, 25, began representing Estonia in April 2023, having previously represented the USA.
Neel won her her first WTA 125 title alongside Germany's Vivian Heisen at the 2023 Firenze Ladies Open. Alongside Ukrikke Eikeri, Neel then went on to record victory at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo in the same year.
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Editor: Anders Nõmm, Michael Cole
