Abierto Monterrey Afirme, Mexico

[CR91] Anett Kontaveit (EST) vs. [CR104] Nicole Gibbs (USA)

It’s the season of young and promising stars.  The trend is continuing from last year where we saw the emergence of Belinda Bencic, Alexander Zverev, Borna Coric, and Dominic Thiem to mention a few.  This season we have seen a new crop of young stars literally bursting into the spotlight.  Every player wants that spotlight because ultimately it signifies that they are achieving the goals they set when they decided to become professional tennis players, win matches and titles.  Yet, dealing with the spotlight is not always easy; many are unprepared for the realization of their dreams and succumb to the pressure of the moment.  Not Kontaveit, she seems to have embraced the spotlight fully and is continuing to dismiss all obstacles in her path rather handily.  Today she took out American Gibbs in straight sets.  Just like last night she struggled in the second set.  Gibbs tried very hard to get back into the match; however, she could not keep up with Kontaveit’s shots.  Although she broke a few times, Gibbs could not hold her own serve to consolidate the break. Kontaveit took the opportunity on the final break to serve out the match, but again it was not easy.  Was Gibbs injured left thigh the reason she lost or was Kontaveit simply too good?  Whatever the reason, Kontaveit won 6-1, 6-4 and she is into her first career singles semifinal match.  I am curious to see if she can go all the way to the final.  Her next opponent will be the very versatile Kirsten Flipkens.