Athlete of the Week on RRI – Tennis Player Monica Niculescu

Several world-class tournaments are underway in Asia right now. Last week the city of Seoul in South Korea played host to a WTA tournament totaling 226,750 dollars in prize money. Two Romanian players were seeded among the favorites. Irina Begu, WTA 23rd ranked, was seeded first, while Monica Niculescu, 55 WTA at the time, was seeded 5th. Also representing Romania in the main draw was Patricia Tig, 135th WTA.

Florin Orban, 27.09.2016, 13:18

Several world-class tournaments are underway in Asia right now. Last week the city of Seoul in South Korea played host to a WTA tournament totaling 226,750 dollars in prize money. Two Romanian players were seeded among the favorites. Irina Begu, WTA 23rd ranked, was seeded first, while Monica Niculescu, 55 WTA at the time, was seeded 5th. Also representing Romania in the main draw was Patricia Tig, 135th WTA.

Irina Begu was knocked out in the round of 16 by Jana Cepelova of Slovakia. Patricia Tig on the other hand produced a big surprise by reaching the semi-finals. Tig brushed aside more experienced players, such as Marina Erakovic of New Zealand or the sixth-seed Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium. Patricia lost in the semi-finas to Lara Arruabarrena of Spain.

Monica Niculescu on the other hand made it all the way to the finals, and she did so without losing a single set. In the final game the Romanian lost to Lara Arruabarrena of Spain in three sets, 0-6, 6-2, 0-6. For reaching the finals, Monica was awarded a 21,400-dollar check and 180 WTA points, also promoting us to designate her Athlete of the Week on RRI.

Monica Niculescu was born on September 25, 1987 in Slatina. She moved to Bucharest at the age of four. She took up tennis a year later and turned pro in 2002. Her highest ranking in WTA singles was in February 2012, when she was 28th placed. Now she is 49th ranked in WTA standings, climbing six places after playing the Seoul final. In the WTA singles she was won two titles, in 2012 in Florianopolis and in 2014 in Guangzhou.

(Translated by V. Palcu)