“Means the world to me”

After 6-1: Potapova loses final to Andreeva

Mirra Andrejewa and Anastasia Potapova(Bild: GEPA)

The winner of the Upper Austria Ladies in Linz is Mirra Andrejewa. The 18-year-old Russian denied 25-year-old new Austrian citizen Anastasia Potapova her biggest triumph to date on Sunday. The top-seeded world No. 10 didn’t let a deficit rattle her and defeated Potapova 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 after 1 hour and 54 minutes. 

This means Austrian women’s tennis remains without a WTA title after 4,648 days; the last time was when Yvonne Meusburger won in Bad Gastein in 2013.

(Bild: GEPA)

After a few minutes, Potapova—who had become the first Austrian to reach the final in the 35-year history of the Linz tournament—was already looking back on the match very positively. “Great job, Mirra, you’re an incredible player and you’re so young. I hope you fulfill all your dreams,” Potapova said to her opponent during the award ceremony. She also extended a special thank you to the crowd. “Playing here for the first time as an Austrian means the world to me. I’ve never received so much support in my life—thank you, Linz, see you next year,” she told the 2,500 fans.

(Bild: Kronen Zeitung)

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Potapova, who earned 325 WTA points and €99,565 for reaching the final, analyzed the match with composure. “It was a tough match; I knew that going in. I know Mirra doesn’t give up easily. Today, luck wasn’t quite on my side during the crucial moments,” she explained. But what matters most to her is that her level is back. “It’s only a matter of time before I climb further up the rankings and achieve bigger things.”

Potapova: “This week felt like a fairy tale”
The way she was received by the crowd overwhelmed the Russian-born player. “I’ll never forget this week, all that support—it felt like a fairy tale.” She’ll keep working hard to make the Austrians proud.

(Bild: GEPA)

Andrejewa was delighted with her fifth WTA title overall. She, too, first congratulated Potapova on her run. “You played great and pushed me to my limit. You’re a great fighter and an even better person. I wish you the best for your career.” Andrejewa hinted that she felt very comfortable during her first appearance in Linz. “It’s a very cozy tournament.”

Her dad also made things cozy for her. “I was too lazy to leave my room, and he always brought me lunch and dinner,” she revealed. And she surprised everyone at the end by thanking herself. “That’s kind of a tradition of mine. I also want to thank myself for fighting until the end and for believing in it until the very end.”

Here are the match stats:

Potapova off to a strong start
In front of another sold-out crowd at the WTA500 tournament in Upper Austria—held for the first time as an indoor clay-court event—Potapova was surprisingly dominant from the start. After all, the local hero was facing Andreeva, the world’s number ten. Potapova, who had also knocked out Austria’s young star Lilli Tagger in the quarterfinals, broke serve in the opening game and quickly set the stage for winning the set with another break to make it 4-1. She sealed the set 6-1 on her first set point after just 29 minutes.

In the second set, however, the match swung in favor of the favorite. After a break and a break back, Andreeva managed to break her opponent’s serve again at 3-2 and this time held her serve to make it 4-2. The teenager seized her first opportunity to level the match at 6-4. The third set followed a similar pattern: Andreeva broke to make it 3-2, Potapova immediately broke back, but the Vienna-based player once again lost her serve in the emotionally charged decisive phase to make it 3-4. Andreeva repeatedly defended against the aggressively playing Potapova and eventually forced the Austrian into errors. In the end, Andreeva converted her second match point to claim her second title of the year after Adelaide. She will now move up to ninth place in the WTA rankings.

(Bild: APA/BARBARA GINDL)

Potapova back on the rise
Potapova, who was also the 2016 Junior Wimbledon champion, is nonetheless well on her way back to her former best form. The new Austrian had previously been ranked 21st in the WTA rankings and entered the Linz tournament at No. 97. Now she has catapulted herself back to No. 54. Unlike quarterfinalist Lilli Tagger, Potapova will not be playing in next week’s WTA 250 tournament in Rouen. There, Tagger will face Ukrainian Oleksandra Olijnykova (WTA No. 68).

Meanwhile, the doubles competition in Linz was won by the top-seeded duo. Romanian Sorana Cirstea and Zhang Shuai of China defeated the Czech pair Jesika Maleckova/Miriam Skoch 6-3, 6-2 in the final.

Sandra Reichel and Co. delighted with the response
In any case, the organizers in Linz are celebrating a very successful 35th edition—not just from an Austrian perspective. The 2,500-fan-capacity Design Center was sold out five times, and around 24,000 spectators attended the event during the tournament week. “I’ve never experienced an atmosphere like this year’s at the Design Center. I really had goosebumps, and it was fantastic to see how much our Austrian players—Anastasia, Lilli, Julia, and Sinja—as well as international stars like Mirra Andreeva, thrilled the tennis fans. In my view, the switch to clay has made the tennis even more appealing to fans. The tournament is a perfect start to the clay-court season for the players,” said tournament director Sandra Reichel in her summary.

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