Bernarda Pera was born in Croatia and lives in Croatia, yet she plays for the USA. The Croatian-born American was once ranked as high as number fifty-nine, but has suffered the fate of many tennis players, injury.
Bernarda Pera Has Fallen Out Of The Top 100
As fans, we often wonder why some players win titles, and others struggle to get to a final. Bernarda Pera has game and has the fitness, but until today, she had never gotten to a final. Why? The key as many of the greats will tell you is, ‘mental strength.’ The real test will come tomorrow for Pera. She will have to fight through the nerves and play the quality tennis that got you to the final.
Aleksandra Krunic In Budapest Final
Aleksandra Krunic is into her first final in over four years. Krunic is another player whose career was derailed by injury. She is also a player whose style of play requires her to be in optimal physical and mental health because she does not have shots that can overpower her opponents. Krunic’s only title came in 2018 on grass.
Pera Hopes To Keep Winning Record Against Krunic
They have played twice before and both victories went to the American. However, advantage goes to Krunic, who has been in finals several times before. Pera will have to shake off the nerves and come out swinging. She did lose the first set to Krunic in 2018 and managed to dig her way out of the hole to victory; however, this is for the title. The occasion can be overwhelming even for champions with many titles. Thus, Pera needs to keep her focus on playing the quality tennis that got her to this stage. Hopefully, she will be first time lucky.
Embed from Getty ImagesKrunic Will Fight For The Title As Well
Do not expect the Serbian to just gift the title to her opponent. She has enough variety in her game to make this a tricky match, which may be just enough to get under the American’s skin. Add to that the nerves that her opponent will be feeling and Krunic is probably thinking this is her opportunity to get her first victory over the American. In any event, I hope they both bring their ‘A’ game and give the fans a great match.
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