CHARLESTON, S.C./WASHINGTON, March 17, 2024 (by Michael Dickens)
Elisabetta Cocciaretto came to the South Carolina Lowcountry following a first-round loss last week at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells without any expectations – just looking for an opportunity to play some tennis.
Round by round, the 23-year-old Italian from Ancona, the capital city of the Marche region on Italy’s Adriatic Coast, kept putting up winning scores and did so without dropping a single set at the WTA Tour’s Fifth Third Charleston 125 at LTP Mount Pleasant.
En route to the title match, Cocciaretto played eight sets spread over four matches on four consecutive days and won them all. She beat Australian Arina Rodionova, qualifier Marina Bassols Ribera of Spain, American qualifier McCartney Kessler and Greet Minnen of Belgium.
So, it should come as little surprise that the 60th-ranked Cocciaretto would garner her third career WTA Tour 125 crown – and second on a hard court – and do it in straight-set fashion for a fifth time this week.
Elisabetta Cocciaretto (Fifth Third Charleston 125)
On Saturday afternoon, the fourth seed Cocciaretto defeated No. 74 Diana Shraider of Russia, 6-3, 6-2, in an hour and 16 minutes to win her fourth overall WTA Tour title and first since lifting the trophy at Lausanne, Switzerland on clay last July during a stretch in which she achieved a career-high ranking of No. 29.
The victory improved Cocciaretto’s 2024 win-loss record to 9-6 in main-draw play and 10-7 in all competitions. Shraider dropped to 10-5 in main draw action and 12-6 overall.
“It’s always nice to win a WTA tournament,” Cocciaretto said in an on-court interview afterward. “I think I played some of my best tennis this week after not having a good week in Indian Wells.”
Cocciaretto was nothing if not consistent throughout the title match. She won 68 percent of her first-serve points, and although she didn’t hit any aces, Cocciaretto also didn’t commit any double faults, either. She saved seven of the eight break points she faced from the 19-year-old seventh-seeded Shraider and converted five of her nine break-point opportunities. Cocciaretto outpointed her opponent 63-48.
Diana Shnaider (photo: Fifth Third Charleston 125)
After breaking Shraider twice in the final three games to win the 37-minute opening set, Cocciaretto broke her Russian foe to go ahead 4-2 in the second set. Then, after consolidating the break at love, she broke the bandana-wearing lefty once again, and won the title on her first championship point after hitting a solid forehand winner to cap a final 16-shot rally.
As Cocciaretto readies to head off to the Miami Open, where she will be ranked 51st — an improvement of nine places in the WTA Rankings thanks to the 125 WTA Ranking points she’s just won – she also leaves with $15,000 first-prize earnings plus a 5/3 bonus of $9,000, thanks to the sponsorship of Fifth Third Bank.
Looking back on her successful week in the South Carolina Lowcountry, Cocciaretto said: “I played with confidence and I think I played some of my best tennis. I’m proud of myself. I want to continue to improve.”
Team Olivia wins second WTA doubles title in three weeks
Team Olivia – Olivia Gadecki of Australia and Olivia Nicholls of Great Britain – who paired together for the first time last month, won their second WTA Tour doubles title in three weeks at the Fifth Third Charleston 125 Saturday afternoon.
After winning their first title in Austin, Texas 12 days ago, the unseeded Australian/British pair stormed to another title victory by defeating No. 4 seeds Sara Errani of Italy and Tereza Mihalikova of Slovakia, 6-2, 6-1, in just 61 minutes.
Olivia Nicholls, Olivia Gadecki (photo: Fifth Third Charleston 125)
The winning team dominated the final from the outset with their brilliant teamwork and domination of the net game. Gadecki and Nicholls won the 33-minute opening set by winning four straight games to break a 2-all deadlock. They took advantage of their aggressive volleying skills and solid all-court teamwork.
Next, they broke for 3-1 advantage and consolidated the break to further their lead to 4-1. Then, Gadecki and Nicholls broke again and clinched the title by winning a deciding point on an 11th-shot forehand winner at the net by Gadecki.
Gadecki and Nicholls converted five of seven break points and won all four deciding points in the title match. They outpointed Errani and Mihalikova 52-32.
“We’re delighted by the win today,” Nicholls said in an on-court interview. “That completes two tournaments together and two titles together in America. We couldn’t have hoped for a better trip, really.
“We really complement each other very well. We’re great friends on and off the court and that gets us through the tough moments. We don’t take it too seriously the whole time. I think it showed in the way we played.”
Gadecki added: “I’m pretty ecstatic to be honest. It’s always nice to win a title with the same person. We had some really good wins against some tough players. We now can go into any tournament thinking we can do well.”
In two tournaments together this season, Gadecki and Nicholls have compiled an impressive 8-0 win-loss record and have been pushed to a match tie-break only once.
