LONDON: German veteran Tatjana Maria defied the odds to move into the biggest final of her career when she stunned second seed and Australian Open champion Madison Keys 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) at the Queen’s Club Championships on Saturday.

The unseeded Maria came into the tournament carrying the burden of nine straight losses with many wondering if the 37-year-old mother of two was a spent force.

But she put those doubts to bed on the lush green surface at the Andy Murray Arena, where she has now knocked out two Grand Slam champions in back-to-back matches.

Having upset former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the quarter-finals 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) on Friday, Maria will now play Amanda Anisimova for the trophy after the American beat top seed and Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.

“Oh my God, to be honest, I cannot believe it. It’s a dream come true. It’s amazing to play here in front of you all, it’s such a special place. I could not wish a better tournament to be in the final and I’m so, so proud,” a smiling Maria said.

“You never can stop, doesn’t matter how it goes. I think I’m a really good example for this. I had my ups and downs, but you always have to keep going. “I love to play tennis. I love this sport and we live for these special moments. That’s why it’s amazing... To be here with my family, my team. It makes it so special that they are here and watching me. We live this dream together.”

Keys, who battled back from a set down to beat Diana Shnaider 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Friday, unleashed raw power, hammering 41 winners to Maria’s modest 11. But the German countered with crafty low slices that skidded treacherously off the grass, forcing the American second seed into 37 unforced errors while committing just six herself.

The only time Maria really struggled was when Keys approached the net, where the American won several points, especially on serve.

However, that ultimately proved to be Keys’ undoing on match point when she sprinted up to the net, only for Maria to loft a perfectly weighted lob into an empty court to move into just her second grasscourt final of her career.

On the other side of the net will be eighth seed Anisimova, who moved into her first grasscourt final after a roller-coaster victory over Zheng, who had beaten her twice last year.

Both players struggled with serve in windy conditions in a match that had a combined 16 double faults and 12 breaks of serve, but it was Anisimova who eventually triumphed over her Chinese opponent for the first time in her career.

“I’ve never gotten the win over her, every time we’ve played we’ve had some really tough battles and I think I was just really relieved at the end there,” Anisimova, who beat compatriot and third seed Emma Navarro 6-3, 6-3 in the quarter-finals, said. “The conditions were very tricky so I’m sure we struggled a little bit from that, but we still managed to play some really good tennis. So I’m really happy.”

Zheng had seen off the challenge of Britain’s Emma Raducanu 6-2, 6-4 to move into the semi-finals.

Published in Dawn, June 15th, 2025