NEW ORLEANS, La. – Privateers women's tennis player,
Anja Luethi delivered a strong finish to her freshman year and is carrying that momentum over to the summer with back-to-back tournament victories in Switzerland and a runner-up finish in her last tournament against mostly nationally ranked competition.
Luethi's second tournament did not feature a lot of players in the draw, but provided some tough competition at the Bernise Championships. In the final, Luethi defeated Romania native Raluca Ciulei, an ex-WTA player 6-4, 7-5.
Following that performance, Luethi jumped into the Thun Open where she knocked out the top three seeded players in the draw. That included another win over Ciulei in the semi-final and a three-set victory over the top seed and nationally ranked Anabel Marazzotta. After dropping the second set in a tiebreak, Luethi came back with a sweep in the third and deciding set.
In what would be her final tournament of the summer, Luethi was seeking to be the first player in 40 years to win both draws of the Thun Open. Another strong performance was highlighted by a win over a top 25 ranked opponent in the semis when she knocked off Chiara Volejnicek in straight sets.
"I'm very happy that the hard work is paying off and that it shows the progress I made especially this past season, tennis wise and mentally," said Luethi. "I'm very happy with all my tournaments. Out of four I won two, was in the final of a very tough one and in the first one I lost against a very good player I beat today. I can't wait to come back and compete again and hopefully will keep getting better."
Luethi's final match of her four-tournament performance was her 12
th match in nine days. Seven wins over her last two tournaments came over nationally ranked players.
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