Croatia’s Donna Vekic leaned on her blistering serve to reach the final of the WTA 125 Philippine Women’s Open, defeating Russia’s Tatiana Prozorova 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 on Friday at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.
The 29-year-old fourth seed, a Paris Olympics silver medalist who has quickly become a crowd favorite in Manila, needed 76 minutes to dispatch Prozorova, repeatedly earning free points off her serve and preventing the Russian from establishing any rhythm.
“Definitely, my serves have been very good the whole week. It’s been giving me a lot of free points and making my life easier,” said Vekic, ranked world No. 72.
Vekic broke serve midway through the second set to take a 4-3 lead with a down-the-line volley, before sealing the match with another break in the 10th game. “It has gotten me out of tight situations,” she added, advancing to her 15th career WTA Tour final.
In the final, Vekic will face Colombia’s Camila Osorio. The fifth seed stormed past Argentina’s Solana Sierra 6-0, 6-1 in just 46 minutes, recording four aces, winning 95 percent of her first-serve points and converting five of her 10 break opportunities. Osorio’s win came a day after she narrowly defeated hometown favorite Alex Eala in a thrilling quarterfinal, keeping Manila fans on the edge of their seats.
Vekic is seeking her fifth WTA singles crown, having previously lifted trophies in Kuala Lumpur (2014), Nottingham (2017), Courmayeur (2021) and Monterrey (2023).
