Colombia’s Camila Osorio captured the inaugural Philippine Women’s Open singles title, staging a dramatic come-from-behind victory over Croatia’s Donna Vekic, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5, on Saturday at the Felicisimo Ampon Tennis Center in Manila.
The final set unfolded like a championship decider, with both players holding serve through the eighth game. Osorio inched closer to the crown with a crucial break for a 5-4 lead, but the more experienced Vekic responded with a game of her own.
Still, the Colombian star summoned her second wind to close out the next two games — and the match — on her own serve, securing a historic triumph.
Osorio took home $15,500, a trophy, a Filipiniana bolero, and the honor of becoming the first-ever champion of this WTA 125 tournament.
“I have no words for what I’m feeling right now; I’m super happy. I had such a good time, and it has been a pleasure to play here,” said the standout from Cúcuta.
“I would like to thank the organization and all who made this tournament possible. It has been really good for us players; the way you treated us, and, yeah, I hope to come back in the future.”
The 24-year-old, however, had to dig deep after a slow start. Vekic set the tone early, breaking serve and capitalizing on Osorio’s initial struggles, forcing errors with spectacular returns.
(C) PHILTA
Osorio gradually found her rhythm, narrowing the deficit to 1-3 in the first set by taking advantage of Vekic’s second serve. She maintained composure in her service games, reaching 2-5.
Nevertheless, Vekic relied on her solid serving and eventually took the opening set convincingly, 6-2.
That set proved to be Vekic’s last hurrah, as Osorio mounted a fierce comeback. She gained momentum from key points in the opener, surged to a 3-0 lead in the second set, and executed precise shots that finally found their targets.
Building on this momentum, Osorio steadily piled on the points to force a decisive third set.
Osorio’s road to the final included victories over Japan’s Sakura Hosogi (6-4, 6-3) and Mai Hontama (6-4, 4-6, 6-2) in the early rounds. She then defeated local favorite Alex Eala (6-4, 6-4) in the quarterfinals before routing Solana Sierra in the semifinals, 6-0, 6-1.
Vekic, meanwhile, had been dominant leading up to the final, beating Kyoka Okamura, Mariia Tkacheva, and Zhu Lin in the first three rounds. She then ousted Tatiana Prozorova in the semifinals.
