From the car ride over to the action on the court and even into the postmatch celebration, Sophia Bergner wasn’t quite sure how to act.
Bergner won the women’s singles open championship Sunday at the Colorado State Open, defeating defending champion Ute Schnoy 7-6 (7), 6-2 at Gates Tennis Center.
Teammates at the University of Denver, Bergner and Schnoy are also friends and often played against each other in junior tennis in their home country of Germany.
Bergner arrived in the United States just two weeks ago and has been helped along by Schnoy, a senior at DU and the reason Bergner chose to play for the Pioneers. In fact, the two even shared a ride to their championship match.
“It was really quiet when we drove here,” said Bergner, a freshman. “I don’t like this having to play against her. It was really a strange feeling. You don’t know how to react on the court or what to say before the match.”
Bergner let her play do most of the talking, especially in the second set. Off the momentum of winning the first-set tiebreaker, Bergner built a 5-0 lead before winning 6-2 to capture the championship.
Top-seeded Nick Monroe won the men’s singles open championship, beating former training partner and No. 2 seed Roman Borvanov 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. It was Monroe’s second title of the tournament, also winning the open doubles championship with partner Jeremy Wurtzman.
Bergner spent the week adjusting her game from the clay-court surface back home and seemed to get better with each match. She upset Marie Matrka, the No. 2 seed and last year’s runner-up, in the quarterfinals.
“I played only two times my first week here. I had a lot of meetings and stuff and had to go to classes,” Bergner said. “It’s a different game here on the hard court. It’s so much faster, but I think I got better and better match to match.”
Bergner had a 3-1 lead in the first set before Schnoy broke back on serve. Schnoy was a point from winning the first set, but Bergner was able to fight off the set point, force deuce and win the game.
Schnoy also had a 2-0 lead in the tiebreaker before double-faulting to give Bergner a 3-2 lead. Schnoy fought off set points at 6-4 and 6-5 in the tiebreaker, but then double-faulted again on set point.
“Because I am a freshman, I had nothing to lose,” Bergner said. “She won last year, so maybe she was a bit under pressure. Maybe she was thinking about winning it again.”
Schnoy insisted she didn’t feel the pressure to repeat as champion and knew facing the seventh-seeded Bergner would be a tough task.
“Everyone thinks you’re supposed to win, but it’s really hard to have that mind-set,” Schnoy said. “I’ve played her a lot back in juniors, so I knew it was going to be tough. It was, but I’d rather lose to a teammate than anyone else.”
At Gates Tennis Center
MEN’S OPEN SINGLES
Championship
Nicholas Monroe def. Roman Borvanov 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
Semifinals
Roman Borvanov def. Jeremy Wurtzman 6-0, 6-2
Nicholas Monroe def. Javier Llanes 6-4, 6-4
WOMEN’S OPEN SINGLES
Championship
Sophia Bergner def. Ute Schnoy 7-6 (7), 6-2
Semifinals
Sophia Bergner def. Lauren Strasburger 6-2, 6-4
Ute Schnoy def. Natalie Dunn 6-1, 6-4
MEN’S OPEN DOUBLES
Championship
Monroe-Wurtzman def. Dann-Miller 6-2, 6-2
Semifinals
Dann-Miller def. Richman-Ross 6-4, 6-4
Monroe-Wurtzman def. Lam-Westerman 6-3, 6-3
WOMEN’S OPEN DOUBLES
Championship
Bauregger-Schnoy def. Carleton-Janus 6-2, 6-4
Semifinals
Carleton-Janus def. Dunn-Matrka 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
Bauregger-Schnoy def. Cross-Ruegsegger, by default
MIXED OPEN DOUBLES
Championship
Carleton-Lam def. Blagodarova-Broach 7-6 (7), 3-6, 6-4
Semifinals
Blagodarova-Broach def. Hill-Vasaune 6-4, 6-3
Carleton-Lam def. Ruegsegger-Weiner 6-3, 6-1
