JACKSON, Tenn. – LSU women’s tennis junior Anita Sahdiieva and Taiwan’s Connie Chieh-Yu Hsu were crowned doubles champions at the ITF W15 Jackson on Saturday at the University of Jackson in Tennessee.
The Path to the Final
Sahdiieva and Hsu, a 31-year old player from Taiwan, teamed up for the first time in competitive play on Wednesday in the first round of the doubles main draw, taking on Brilee Davis and Elizabeth Dunavant. The duo opened the tournament with a 6-0, 6-0 sweep to advance to the quarterfinal round.
Thursday’s quarterfinal saw the duo face Kolie Allen and Luzia Fullana. Sahdiieva and Hsu took the first set by a margin of 6-2 before only dropping one game in the second set to win 6-1 and advance with ease to the semifinal round.
Friday’s semifinal was the toughest match yet for Sahdiieva and Hsu as they faced Ayumi Miyamoto and Lucia Peyre. The first set was a back-and-forth one between the two, with the score split at 6-6 after 12 games and requiring a tiebreaker to decide it. The tiebreaker went to Sahdiieva and Hsu, who won 8-6 and took the lead. Miyamoto and Peyre responded in the second set with a 6-3 win that saw the match extended to a 10-point tiebreaker in the third set. Neither team could pull away in the tiebreaker, but Sahdiieva and Hsu finished strong with a narrow 10-8 win to secure their spot in the final round.
Doubles Final
The final round saw the duo face Adeline Flach and Angella Okutoyi on Saturday afternoon. The pairs battled in a tight first set, but Sahdiieva and Hsu edged out a 7-5 win to take the lead. The second set saw the duo take the lead and not look back as they won 6-3 to clinch a straight set victory and secure the W15 Jackson doubles title.
The win is Sahdiieva’s second ITF doubles title in 2023, with her first coming at the W15 Lakewood in July. It continues Sahdiieva’s strong month of October. Earlier this month at the ITA Southern Regional, she was a semifinalist in the singles bracket and finished runner-up in the doubles bracket with teammate Kinaa Graham.
Up Next
Sahdiieva and the LSU Tigers return to collegiate action on October 27 when they open the Roberta Alison Fall Classic, hosted by the university of Alabama.
Follow Us
For more information on the LSU women’s tennis program follow the Tigers on Twitter @lsuwten , on Instagram @LSUWTen , and on www.Facebook.com/lsuwten.
ITF Jackson W15
Oct. 18 – 21, 2023
Jackson, Tenn. (University of Jackson)
Round of 16 – Oct. 18
Anita Sahdiieva (UKR)/Chieh-Yu Hsu (TPE) def. Brilee Davis (USA)/Elizabeth Dunavant (USA), 6-0, 6-0
Quarterfinal – Oct. 19
Anita Sahdiieva (UKR)/Chieh-Yu Hsu (TPE) def. Kolie Allen (USA)/Luiza Fullana (BRA), 6-2, 6-1
Semifinal – Oct. 20
Anita Sahdiieva (UKR)/Chieh-Yu Hsu (TPE) def. Ayumi Miyamoto (JPN) / Lucia Peyre (ARG), 7-6(6), 3-6, 10-8
Final – Oct. 21
Anita Sahdiieva (UKR)/Chieh-Yu Hsu (TPE) def. Adeline Flach (USA)/Angella Okutoyi (KEN), 7-5, 6-3