LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) – American Madison Keys and German veteran Tatjana Maria set up an Eastbourne final when they both benefited from their opponents retiring mid-match in the semi-finals on Friday.
Maria was leading 6-1 1-2 against former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko when her opponent retired feeling unwell during a rain delay at Devonshire Park.
Second seed Keys took the first set 6-1 against Croatian 20-year-old Petra Marcinko who then quit with an abdominal injury.
The 31-year-old Keys has dropped only 14 games in reaching the final, spending just four hours on court as she bids for a third title at the south-coast tournament.
“It’s always bittersweet winning a match this way and hopefully she gets better for Wimbledon,” Keys said.
“She’s an incredible young player, has lots of years ahead of her so I’m sure we’ll see lots of her.”
At 38, Maria is the oldest ever finalist at the Eastbourne WTA event. She fought off early break points before surging ahead against the error-prone Latvian.
Ostapenko had a medical timeout when she was trailing 4-1 and, after a rain shower interrupted play early in the second set, she did not return from the stoppage.
Maria said: “I was feeling well, then the rain started but I was focused. I was ready to go out here.
“It’s never nice to end like this but I’m happy with my week for the moment, and I’m happy to be in the final,” she added.
In the men’s ATP event, Britain’s Jack Draper’s hopes of reaching a final on his return from injury were ended by France’s Ugo Humbert who won 7-5 6-3.
Draper’s compatriot Toby Samuel also fell just short, losing his semi-final to Belgium’s Zizou Bergs 4-6 7-6(5) 6-2.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Clare Fallon)
