Note from BW of Brazil: Although the world of sports is not a main topic here at BW of Brazil, it’s always nice to present triumphs of Brazil’s female athletes (1). And today’s story certainly qualifies as a triumph! A drought of almost three decades without a Women’s Tennis Association champion was recently ended in Colombia. Below is the story. Congratulations to Teliana Pereira!
Teliana Pereira brings Brazil its first WTA title in 27 years
The Bogotá WTA was the second in a series of five tournaments in which Teliana competes before the French Open (Roland Garros)
Courtesy of Gazeta do Povo
Teliana Pereira broke on Sunday (19), a 27 year fast of Brazilian tennis. The Pernambuco native based in Curitiba defeated Yaroslava Shvedova Kazakh, number 75 in the world, and became champion of the Bogotá tournament, part of the WTA Tour, the Associação Feminina de Tênis (Women’s Tennis Association). Teliana won the match by 2 sets to 0, with partials of 7-6 (7/2) and 6-1.
“I think I’m still in shock. I’m not believing it. It was the best week of my life. I always I trained dreaming of winning a WTA and now I got it. It was very important to have played Medellin. There was also altitude, like here and it was a very good preparation,” said Teliana, who won her 10th straight match. She was champion of a Seguros Bolívar Open Medellín last week.
The Brazilian expected a tough match. “I knew it would be a really tough game. Yaroslava pulls very well and when the game started I didn’t know where to be to return the serve. But then I was more to the background and everything improved. The most important thing is that I was very solid all week. Physically I was fine as well.”
26 years old and currently 130th in the world, Teliana expected to rise 49 places and reach 81st place, which would be the best position of her career. Until then, the player’s best ranking was the 87th place in 2013. At the title campaign in Bogotá, she came to eliminate the Italian Francesca Schiavonem, French Open (Roland Garros) champion in 2011, at the premiere.
The last Brazilian victory in a WTA tournament was in 1988, with Niege Dias, in Barcelona. Until this Sunday, no other Brazilian tennis player had managed to even decide a circuit title since the Niege campaign in Spain.
After winning the WTA trophy, Teliana remembered her difficult career moments, such as knee injuries in 2009 and last year. At the award ceremony, the tennis cited her first coach Didier Rayon.
It was in the French academy in Curitiba that she started playing tennis when the family moved from the Pernambuco hinterland. At the Academy of Rayon, Teliana and her siblings were retrieving balls and began to play tennis from then.
The Bogotá WTA was the second in a series of five tournaments in which Teliana competes before Roland Garros.
Teliana
A Natural of Águas Belas, Pernambuco, Teliana moved with her family to Paraná as a child. She began her professional career in 2005 and in 2007 won the bronze medal at the Pan American Games in Rio, alongside Joana Cortez, in the doubles.
In 2013, she became the first Brazilian to reach the semifinal of a WTA since 1989. Still that year, she entered the top 100 in the WTA. In 2014, Teliana competed for the first time in her career the main draw of all Grand Slams.
The Bogotá Tournament is part of Teliana’s preparation for Roland Garros, starting at the end of May.
Source: Gazeta do Povo
Note
1. Today’s feature is welcome edition to previous stories about athletes such as Etienne Medeiros, Rafaela Silva, Janeth Arcain, Fabiana Claudino, Evelyn Santos and some athletes from the 2012 Olympics.
Congrats to Teliana Pereira! More power to her. What a beautiful woman! 🙂