Lucky loser Nao Hibino wins Prague Open: Key stats
What's the story
Japanese star Nao Hibino claimed her third career WTA Tour title after beating Linda Noskova in the Prague Open final on August 7. The former claimed a 6-4, 6-1 win after over an hour to win the hard-court tournament. Hibino had entered the main draw as the lucky loser. Emiliana Arango handed her a 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 defeat in the Qualifiers.
Final
Sixth WTA final; third title
Lucky loser Hibino secured a three-set win over Jaqueline Cristian in a run-curtailed semi-final spread over two days. The match was suspended overnight, with Hibino leading 5-2 in the third set. Nevertheless, Hibino qualified for her sixth career WTA final and first since winning in Hiroshima (2019). As mentioned, she has won her third title on the WTA circuit.
Noskova
Noskova could have scripted history
On the other hand, Hibino's opponent in the final, Noskova sailed into her second final of 2023 after beating Tamara Korpatsch in the semis. As per WTA, Noskova had the opportunity to become the sixth home champion. Notably, Karolina Pliskova (2015), Lucie Safarova (2016), Petra Kvitova (2018), Barbora Krejcikova (2021), and Marie Bouzkova (2022) have attained this feat in the past.
Record
All three titles on hard courts
All of Hibino's three WTA titles have been recorded on hard courts. She has already lifted trophies at Tashkent in 2015 and Hiroshima in 2019. However, the one in Prague is her first title outside Asia. As a result, Hibino will return to the Top 100 for the first time since August 2021. The 28-year-old rose to a career-high 56th in January 2016.
Information
Hibino attains this feat
Hibino has become just the fifth lucky loser to win a WTA tournament. She is the second player in the past three weeks to do so. Last month, 19-year-old Maria Timofeeva clinched the Budapest title on her WTA main-draw debut.