Bollerman into US Ladies Open final after claiming World Number 3 rank from Lumley in semis
Fahey and Lumley complete rare golden set in doubles first round
Saskia Bollerman has qualified to the US Ladies Open final, following a win over Tara Lumley in the semi-finals at the Tennis and Racquet Club in Boston on Saturday, in a result that also secured her the World Number 3 rank — a position she last held briefly in April and May last year. Meanwhile, Lumley, in partnership with Claire Fahey, recorded a rare golden set in their first round doubles match, while Katherine Carney completed her set of reaching all four Open doubles finals, aided by her partner Frederika Adam.
The first singles semi-final saw action between reigning World Champion Claire Fahey and reigning Under 19’s World Champion Katherine Carney. The step up to senior level was a tough gig for Carney, as Fahey’s world-class strokeplay more often than not proved difficult for Carney to deal with. Fahey opted for a mix of demi-pique and bobble serves throughout, taking advantage of Carney’s loopy volley response as the junior was unable to carve the ball into the corners to make life difficult for Fahey. Given a ball in the middle of the court, she was able to put the ball away for a winner with ease. Fahey won the match without dropping a game, putting her one match away from her record-equalling 50th Open title.
Fahey’s opponent would be one of Tara Lumley and Saskia Bollerman, who played off in the second semi-final. Both had won the competition once before, though neither had featured in a final since the pandemic. Also up for grabs was the World Number 3 ranking, with any handicap win from Bollerman enough to move ahead of Lumley. Lumley was firing heavy pellets at Bollerman from the start, but Bollerman was able to step across and play them with ease, swinging late and picking them up an inch off the ground. At times, Lumley’s control of the ball was lacking, giving easy pickings for Bollerman as she established a comfortable lead in the set. She held off a mid-set resurgence from Lumley with a couple of back-to-back dedans, going on to win it 6/3.
The second set was more even, with Lumley lifting her game to go shot for shot with Bollerman. The Dutchwoman was missing her chances with increasing frequency as it developed, hitting several unforced errors at inopportune times. Lumley wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth, improving her own shots and dialing up the pressure. She pulled back a 2/3 deficit to a 4/2 lead, before Bollerman finally had some luck go her way with some fortunate nicks off the back wall. It didn’t stop Bollerman’s despondency with the way she was reading the court and hitting the ball, and Lumley pushed on to go up 5/4 with a set point. Bollerman found a good ball under the grille to save the set and push it into a deciding game instead. Lumley won the first two points, then won a short chase to go 40-15 up. Bollerman kept the set alive by the barest of margins, framing a backhand that landed on the top of the net cord and dribbled over. Bollerman beat the chase by hitting the ball into the first gallery post, sending the set to deuce. Each player had a set point come and go, before Bollerman finally won the match with a ball hitting main wall-tambour. She turned, relieved, to show her racket to the crowd, knowing she would be moving on to the final against Fahey.
Lumley stayed on court and was joined by Fahey for the first of the doubles matches agianst Kathy Minevitz & Julia Knowlton. The match was a jarring change in intensity, with the reigning World Champions starting the match at the service end and not conceding a point or a chase until the ninth game of the match, when Lumley missed a volley off the side wall. The first set alone saw 24 restes played, 24 points won and zero chases conceded — a rare golden set. The World Champions finally gave up the service end in the tenth game, courtesy of a hazard chase. They recovered it immediately, with no further blemishes to their scorecard. The whole match from start to finish took less than 15 minutes to complete.
Next, Amy Wintersteen and Aidana Saudabayeva took on fourth seeds Claire Voegele & Kadi Meldrum. Voegele and Meldrum were on track for their own golden set, going the first three games without losing a point or conceding a chase before Voegele sent a defensive volley into the ceiling. Wintersteen and Saudabayeva managed to string together a handful more points from then on — including taking a game at the start of the second set — but Voegele and Meldrum were otherwise untroubled.
Third seeds Katherine Carney and Frederika Adam didn’t have it quite as easy against Ashley Fitz-Patrick & Victoria Scott. Adam and Fitz-Patrick played the galleries for their respective partnerships, and both saw plenty of action. Carney, playing as the back player having been in the galleries for most of her short Open career, took some time to get used to her role. Even though on paper she was the strongest player on court across the first set she didn’t dominate the play. Scott and Fitz-Patrick were both solid, with few mistakes and competing stroke for stroke with Carney and Adam — Scott particularly enjoying spending so much time on her forehand as Fitz-Patrick’s volley had the left side of the court covered. Neither pair had more than a game’s lead through the first set, with Carney and Adam crossing the finish line first courtesy of a good series of volleys from Adam. In the second set, Carney became more assertive in her play, with Adam pressing further forward on the volley. They finally broke through to a three game lead. Even though Scott and Fitz-Patrick pulled back two of those games, Carney and Adam’s lead was sufficient to seal the result.
The last of the first-round matches was another quick match, with second seeds Saskia Bollerman and Xanthe Ranger making quick work of Grace Ormond and Lauren Rowles. Bollerman and Ranger conceded just one point in the first set — off a Ranger volley in defense of the last gallery, and didn’t concede a chase until the first game of the second set. The second set wasn’t much better for Ormond and Rowles, winning just two points as the match concluded within 20 minutes.
After Fitz-Patrick and Scott beat Ormond and Rowles in the back-draw, Fahey and Lumley returned to the court for their semi-final against Voegele and Meldrum. Even though the scoreline read the same as their earlier match, Fahey and Lumley were pushed at least a little further by Voegele and Meldrum, as the World Champions were happy to play out the rally and wait for the error rather than force anything unnatural. Even so, they were still fairly relaxed even if Voegele and Meldrum did force them to deuce several times. Fahey and Lumley’s eventual progression to the final was never in serious doubt.
The last match of the day was the last of the semi-finals as Adam and Carney took on Bollerman and Ranger. Bollerman and Ranger opened well, holding a narrow 2/1 lead. But Adam and Carney were then successful in suppressing the most dangerous of Bollerman’s shots, being solid defensively and directing more of the play at Ranger. They won the next four games to hold a 5/2 lead. Ranger’s volleying game lifted, being able to hold on long enough to keep the rally going until Bollerman could bring the big finish. Bollerman and Ranger won the next three games, saving two set points along the way, to force a deciding game. With Carney serving, Bollerman put a couple of returns into the net to cede the advantage. Even though they conceded a chase, Adam and Carney went to the hazard end with enough of a buffer to seal the set.
Bollerman and Ranger were in much better form in the second set. Bollerman was more assertive in her play and what interventions Ranger did need to make were sufficiently effective to ensure they did not drop a game through the whole set. They even ended the set at the hazard end to keep Bollerman on Carney’s serve for the third. However, Carney and Adam’s defensive play improved, digging in at the hazard end, icing out Ranger and drawing errors from Bollerman down the forehand side. They quickly progressed to a large lead in the third set, nipping Bollerman and Ranger’s comeback in the bud before it could be come threatening. It marked Carney’s first qualification to a US Open doubles final — completing the set of reaching the final at each national Open doubles event.
Play concludes on Sunday with both the singles and doubles finals, along with the remaining matches of the back draw.
Match results:
9:00 AM: Claire Fahey (1) def Katherine Carney (4) 6/0 6/0
10:15 AM: Saskia Bollerman (3) def Tara Lumley (2) 6/3 6/5
11:30 AM: Claire Fahey & Tara Lumley (1) def Kathy Minevitz & Julia Knowlton 6/0 6/0
12:45 PM: Amy Wintersteen & Aidana Saudabayeva lost to Claire Voegele & Kadi Meldrum (4) 0/6 1/6
2:00 PM: Katherine Carney & Frederika Adam (3) def Ashley Fitz-Patrick & Victoria Scott 6/5 6/3
3:15 PM: Grace Ormond & Lauren Rowles lost to Xanthe Ranger & Saskia Bollerman (2) 0/6 0/6
5:00 PM: Claire Fahey & Tara Lumley (1) def Claire Voegele & Kadi Meldrum (4) 6/0 6/0
6:15 PM: Katherine Carney & Frederika Adam (3) def Xanthe Ranger & Saskia Bollerman (2) 6/5 0/6 6/2
Order of play for Sunday (all times EDT):
10:30 AM: Claire Fahey (1) vs Saskia Bollerman (3)
1:30 PM: Claire Fahey & Tara Lumley (1) vs Katherine Carney & Frederika Adam (3)