Mikaelian misses out on first final
Switzerland's Marie-Gaiane Mikaelian has narrowly failed to make it through to the first WTA tournament final of her career after she lost her semi-final clash with Germany's Bianka Lamade at the $140,000 Tashkent Open.
The 17-year-old Swiss qualifier, who was playing in her first ever semi-final, battled strongly in sweltering temperatures before succumbing in three sets, 6-4, 5-7, 3-6.
Mikaelian, who is ranked outside the top 250, took the first set and was leading 3-1 in the second before fatigue started to bite. The six-seeded Lamade, who trains with Switzerland’s Patty Schnyder, eventually won the match after a marathon struggle lasting one hour and 57 minutes.
The on court temperature climbed to a record 44 degrees Celsius in the Uzbek capital which has been hit by a heatwave since the beginning of the week.
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