For the first time in his career: Lina Glushko is an Israeli champion

Lina Glushko won the Israeli tennis championship today (Friday) for the first time in her career after defeating her champion of the year, Shelly Brezniak, 6: 3, 1: 6, 6: 7 (5).

“I was in a state of tension and a stone fell from my heart,” Glushko said. “It’s a milestone in my career. It was a final game, super long and it’s a lot of pressure. It feels amazing.”

Brezniak, ranked fourth, opened the game strongly after breaking already in the first game. Her opponent managed to get back into the game, but Brezniak was much more focused and managed to take the opening campaign with 3: 6.

In the second set Glushko looked completely different and fought for every ball. In addition, she received close encouragement from her older sister Julia, who retired from active play about a year ago, and continued to press the gas to equalize in systems after 1: 6.

The third set was the closest, with the advantage moving from side to side until the two reached a tiebreaker, which Glushko eventually took to win the championship for the first time.

Brezniak has been training at the tennis club in Bat Yam since the age of 12 with coach Miki Zargari. She reached the final after a big drama against former champion Vlada Katich 6: 4, 3: 6, 6: 7 (3). On the other hand, Glushko (20) passed on the way 0: 6, 1: 6 over 13-year-old Mika Buchnik, the surprise of the tournament.

Later, Yishai Uliel and Idan Leshem will advance to the men’s final, to determine who will be the new Israeli champion, after Daniel Zuckerman, the champion for the past two years, was defeated 6: 3, 1: 6 and 6: 1 in the semifinals by Uliel (ranked 2).