Tennis Update: Grabherova on the Verge of Austrian History, Norrie Falls in Lyon Semis, Dimitrov Ends Finals Drought in Geneva, Svitolina Returns to Final in Strasbourg.

Grabherová, who is ranked 74th in the world, will take a peek into the top 60 for the first time on Monday. In case of final success, she will become the first Austrian WTA tournament winner in ten years.

In July 2013, Yvonne Meusburgerová triumphed in Bad Gastein after winning the final over Andrea Hlaváčková.

Norrie will not defend the title in Lyon

Last year’s winner of the tennis tournament in Lyon, British Cameron Norrie, crashed this time in the semi-finals. The defending champion and 2021 finalist lost smoothly to Argentine Francisco Cerúndol 3-6, 0-6.

The fourth-seeded player swept the tournament’s double in 73 minutes and succeeded in the second match between them this year. He also didn’t lose a set against Norrie recently in Monte Carlo.

Cerúndola awaits her third final on the ATP circuit and again on clay. He failed in Buenos Aires the year before, but won the title in Bastad last July.

The opponent of the 28th player in the world ranking will be eighteen-year-old Arthur Fils, who is ranked 112th in the ATP rankings. After an almost three-hour battle, the French tennis player defeated the American Brandon Nakashima, three years older, 7:5, 4:6, 7:6, and will make his debut in the final.

Dimitrov is in the final of the ATP tournament in Geneva after five years

After more than five years, Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov once again made it to the finals of the ATP tournament. In Geneva, he defeated the second-seeded American Taylor Fritz 3:6, 7:5, 7:6. The 33rd ranked player finished the world nine after almost three hours.

For the title, he will face Nicolás Jarry, the quarter-final defeater of the tournament’s number one and winner of the previous two years of the Geneva tournament, Nor Casper Ruud. The Chilean defeated the German Alexander Zverev and in the fifth final of his career he will aim for the third trophy, the second this year after the March triumph on his home clay in Santiago de Chile.

Dimitrov beat Fritz for the first time in his career and leveled the score at 1:1. For the first time in the season, he dealt with an opponent from the top ten and awaits his first final since February 2018, when he failed in the fight for the title in Rotterdam against the Swiss Roger Federer. So far, the Bulgarian tennis player won his eighth ATP Tour triumph in November 2017 in London at the Tournament of Champions.

Svitolina will play her first final after her maternity break in Strasbourg

Former world No. 3 Elina Svitolina will play her first final after her maternity break at the tennis tournament in Strasbourg. The Ukrainian player, who returned to the courts in April half a year after the birth of her daughter, defeated domestic Clara Burelová in the semifinals after a turnaround 4:6, 7:5, 6:3.

For the 17th title in her career, Svitolina, who triumphed in Strasbourg in 2020, will face Anna Blinkova in the final. The Russian knocked out seventh-seeded American Lauren Davis in sets 6-2, 6-2 and will be playing for her second trophy.

Svitolina, who is currently the 508th player in the world ranking, was already losing to Burelová in the second set 1:4 and was close to elimination. But she managed the ending better than her opponent, who physically fell, and the native of Odessa celebrated her progress after almost two and a half hours.