Bride Rodionova wins Open wildcard semi

Arina Rodionova has beaten Storm Sanders 1-6 6-4 7-5 to reach the final of the Australian Open wildcard qualifying tournament.

Tennis balls

Arina Rodionova has reached the final of the Australian Open wildcard on the day of her wedding. (AAP)

Arina Rodionova made it a wedding day to remember on Saturday, winning her semi-final at the Australian Open wildcard qualifying tournament.

Rodionova beat Storm Sanders 1-6 6-4 7-5 to advance to Sunday's final in Melbourne.

Rodionova, who was born in Russia and has lived in Melbourne since 2005, then had to dash off for her wedding with Richmond Tigers AFL player Ty Vickery.

"It's going to be an amazing day. I have no idea how I won this match, I didn't play well but I just fought to the end and I guess that's when it counts," she told News Corp Australia.

"Right now, I'm just so excited to get married in a few more hours.

"Getting married to Ty is like a fairytale for me and so this is just a little bonus. It's a good day all around."

Rodionova admitted she found it tough to focus during the match.

"Because obviously the wedding was on my mind and I was thinking what am I doing here?. I'm just so happy I got through," she said.

"It has been a crazy few weeks and there's so many things on my mind."

As per tradition, Vickery wasn't there to cheer on his partner.

The pair are yet to schedule a honeymoon - Vickery has been in the middle of pre-season training while Rodionova is desperate to play in the Australian Open.

She faces West Australian Maddison Inglis in the final of the wildcard tournament.

The winner of that clash will earn a place in the main draw of the Australian Open, which starts on January 18.

Inglis defeated Queenslander Naiktha Bains 6-2 2-6 6-2 in her semi.

James Duckworth will meet Benjamin Mitchell in the final of the men's Open wildcard qualifying event.

Rodionova's wildcard semi-final was originally scheduled for Saturday afternoon but, with some help from organisers and agreement from Sanders, it was moved up to a morning start.


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world