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Sunday’s Lyon Open final will a derby between qualifiers Clara Tauson and Viktorija Golubic. In the first semi-final, Tauson upset seventh seed Paula Badosa 7-5, 6-1 in 90 minutes. The match swung equally between both players in the initial stages of the opening set.
Two breaks of serve each dotted the score-line and the fate of the set came to be determined only in the 12th game – with Tauson clinching a third break of serve to go up in the score-board. The second set was considerably one-sided as Badosa struggled with an injury to her left leg and even had to take a medical time-out to address her ill-health.
However, despite these ups and downs in the match moments, Tauson remained undistracted and came up with a near-perfect set to make it to her first final of a WTA tournament – in her third WTA event.
Lyon Open: Viktorija Golubic's third final
In the second semi-final, Golubic took down the last Frenchwoman standing, second seed Fiona Ferro.
The Swiss won 4-6, 6-0, 7-6(4) in two hours and 26 minutes. At the start of the match, it was Golubic who came out firing. She went up a break and it looked like Ferro didn’t have much of a say in directing the match proceedings.
However, the momentum changed as Ferro rebounded to take the opening set. Despite the setback, Golubic rallied herself quickly to regain her composure and her equilibrium in the match. In the deciding set, it was Ferro who went up an early break only to be pegged back by Golubic who eventually completed her comeback in the match, on a victorious note.
This is Golubic’s third career final, after the 2016 Gstaad and Linz Opens. While the world no. 130 won the first, she lost the other. The Lyon Open final will also be the second meeting between Viktorija Golubic and Clara Tauson this year. Earlier in January, the Dane between Golubic in the final of the ITF W25 event in Fujairah, UAE.