Battle for Victory Against Kraus

A Dominant Grabher Sets Up the ÖTV Dream Final!

Vienna’s Sinja Kraus (left) and Julia Grabher from Vorarlberg will battle for the title in Kitzbühel on Sunday in an all-Austrian final.(Bild: Krone-Collage/Andreas Vigl, Christof Birbaumer)

The Austrian tennis dream final at the Generali Ladies Kitzbühel is set. After Sinja Kraus took the lead on Saturday afternoon, Julia Grabher followed suit with a commanding performance. 

Thirty-three years after the last women’s tournament in Kitzbühel, the town is set to host an all-Austrian final.

The 24-year-old Viennese player Kraus defeated the No. 5-seeded Spaniard Marina Bassols Ribera 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 after 2 hours and 11 minutes. Grabher then secured a confident 6-1, 6-4 victory over top-seeded Veronika Erjavec of Slovenia. The title will be decided on Sunday (11:30 a.m.).

Kraus Self-Critical
Kraus moved up to No. 87 in the live WTA rankings, her best position to date. “It was really, really tough for me today. I played with complete confidence yesterday, but today nothing went right at the start. I was just struggling with myself,” Kraus summed up while still on the court. Later, she said, “Anyone can play well and win.” After all, she certainly wasn’t playing her best tennis. Still, she’s proud to have pulled through.

From a Rough Start to Victory
Kraus struggled to find her rhythm in the first setfora long time, even though she managed a break back after falling behind 0–2. After losing her serve again to fall behind 1–3 and 1–5, the Viennese player fought off two set points to narrow the gap to 3–5. But Bassols Ribera then capitalized on her third chance to take the set 6–3.

  In the second set, Kraus seemed to find her footing and soon took a 2–0 lead, but she was unable to turn the match around. Kraus squandered a 3-1 lead, but she stayed in the match, and then, thanks to a double fault by the Spaniard, she secured the decisive break to win the set 6-4. In the third set, Kraus clearly had the upper hand.

Grabher Advances with Strong Performance
Julia Grabher delivered a convincing performance in the second semifinal. The high altitude in Kitz suits her very well, thanks to her kick serve and high topspin. The 30-year-old from Vorarlberg took control right from the start against Erjavec and secured the first set in no time at all. In the second set, the Slovenian put up a bit more of a fight, but in the end, Grabher came out on top after 1 hour and 21 minutes. She converted her third match point.

  “I’m super happy that I was able to play some really good tennis today. I played against a very good opponent. Thank you for your support—it’s incredibly fun to play tennis for you,” Grabher said to the crowd. The home final means a great deal to her. “It’s incredible and really special to play against Sinja here in the final tomorrow,” said Günter Bresnik’s protégé.

Grabher Eyes Return to the Top 100
This means the victory at the women’s Kitz comeback tournament is firmly in Austria’s hands. Incidentally, the head-to-head record between Kraus and Grabher stands at 1-1. There’s also a lot at stake for both players in the rankings: Kraus could break into the top 80 for the first time with a title, while Grabher could celebrate her return to the top 100. In the latter case, there would be four Austrian women in the top 100 for the first time in a long while.

Final Featuring an Austrian in Gstaad as Well
There will also be a final with Austrian participation on Sunday at the ATP 250 tournament in Gstaad, as Lucas Miedler is performing brilliantly ahead of his home appearance in Kitzbühel next week. Partnering with Australian Marc Polmans, he confidently defeated Jakub Paul and Ryan Seggerman (SUI/USA) 6-1, 6-4. In the final, the top-seeded duo will now face Marcelo Demoliner and Robert Galloway from Brazil and the U.S. Miedler could reach his 12th tournament victory in doubles. Miedler and Polmans are seeded No. 2 in Kitzbühel.