Viktorija Golubic vs Rebecca Sramkova: Jiujiang Final Analysis (WTA 250)
Past meetings weighed heavily as antiquity prevailed over recency in the chase for a second career Tour title
Viktorija Golubic (WTA #165) ended an 8-year wait for a second WTA Tour title by defeating 2nd-seed Rebecca Sramkova (WTA #51) in the Jiangxi Open final 6-3, 7-5.
The 32-year-old Swiss rediscovered her best form in Jiujiang to overcome 3 seeds in succession — including the top-2 favourites in the last 2 rounds — and finally add to her 2016 home triumph in Gstaad.
Golubic’s Title Road: Quarters to Final
6-seed Arantxa Rus in QF (7-5, 4-6, 6-4)
1-seed Marie Bouzkova in SF (6-1, 6-2)
2-seed Rebecca Sramkova in Final (6-3, 7-5)
A timely sequence of quality performances for Golubic, who had won 2 main draw matches just once in 16 events (and that was on the ITF Tour) since returning from an early-season, 3-month absence due to injury. A lack of wins that left her outside the Top-150. But after becoming the lowest-ranked WTA champion of 2024, and the only one-handed backhand title winner on Tour this season, Golubic got very close to a Top-100 re-entry.
Viktorija Golubic, one-handed backhand and one-handed trophy lifter!
Rebecca Sramkova had never cracked the Top-100 prior to last May, but she turned into one of the WTA Tour stories of the year following an incredible autumn breakthrough.
The above tweet was posted while Sramkova was in the middle of a 9-match winning streak and after some long distance travelling.
The 28-year-old Slovak would eventually win 13 of 15 matches over a span of 20 days. Victories that resulted in back-to-back WTA 250 finals — a runner-up finish in Monastir followed by a maiden title in Hua Hin — and a third round berth at WTA 1000 Beijing as a qualifier.
By reaching the Jiujiang championship match, her third Tour final in 8 weeks, Sramkova was virtually assured of ending the year inside the Top-50. Given her recent form plus her status as second seed, she would probably be considered the overwhelming favourite if playing the final against any other player featured in the Jiangxi Open draw. But Golubic held a 3-0 record against Sramkova and had never conceded more than 4 games in a set to the Slovak.
So the big question surrounding the Jiujiang title decider was how much Sramkova's newfound success and confidence could reverse their previous matchup history.
Right from the first game of the final, it became evident that not much was likely to change.
A rock-solid and patient Golubic, always chosing the ideal moment to go for her shots and constantly switching shapes, speeds and heights, never allowed Sramkova to get comfortable, goading her into desperately pulling the trigger a little too soon.