Upper Austria Linz women experience dream final Ostapenko vs Alexandrova

As guest of honor Ana Ivanovic touched down at Linz Airport late on Saturday afternoon, 2,500 spectators enjoyed a semi-final day with world-class tennis at the sold-out Linz Design Center. First, second seed Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia (WTA 21) defeated crowd favorite Donna Vekic from Croatia (WTA 34) in a match that was difficult to beat in terms of drama and level with 5:7, 7:6 (4), 7. : 6 (6). The top seed of the tournament, Latvian Jelena Ostapenko (WTA 12), who was at her best, confidently defeated Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (WTA 42) 6:2, 6:3, serving ten aces. This is the first time since 2020 that the tournament's top two seeds will meet in the final. At that time, Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) won the final over Belgian Elise Mertens.

Ivanovic, a former world number one and two-time Linz champion, arrived at the Linz Design Center that evening, where she gave an autograph session, handled interview requests in a friendly and down-to-earth manner and watched the Kaiserschmarmarin being set up in the VIP area. The 36-year-old fondly recalled her tournament victories in Linz in 2008 and 2010 and praised the traditional hospitality and convivial atmosphere of the event from tournament director Sandra Reichel and her father Peter Michael Reichel: “The Linz Championship has always had a very special family magic, it was one of my favorite tournaments. ” The new iconic trophy from Swarovski sparked enthusiasm among the 2008 French Open winner: “There has never been a trophy like this in my time, it's definitely an upgrade I would just love to have and take it with me.” In the VIP area, the Serbian met the Croatian Vekic, had a warm conversation with her and took a photo together. Vekic allowed Ivanovic to encourage him a little. She had previously left the Central Court very depressed after the bitter defeat.

“I left my heart on the court, my form was very good, but I couldn't do much today. Of course,” said the 27-year-old, who already led 5:1 in the third set tiebreak and then saved brilliantly on match point at 5:6. “I'm disappointed because I love this tournament so much,” he said, which was met with a storm of applause at the Linz Design Center. After Alexandrova converted her second match point with a serve winner, Vekic received a standing ovation. Vekic, playing in Linz for the seventh time, said: “The support was amazing.” “I enjoyed this week.” For the first time, she was in the semi-finals.

Alexandrova, who lives not far away in Prague, is also a regular visitor to Upper Austria. She made her breakthrough on tour here in 2018 when she reached the final as a qualifier (losing to Camila Giorgi at the time). “I always play well here. I never play better in any other tournament than I do here. Now I have to rest, the final will be another difficult match. Jelena scores a huge number of winners and it is very difficult to play against her,” said Alexandrova. “Winning would mean a lot to me. I played my first final here. “Winning the title now would be unbelievable.”

Top seed Ostapenko rushes into signing marathon

Ostapenko once again wore a “lucky dress” that she designed herself with a mix of purple, green and white stripes. She won her match against Pavlyuchenkova, the 2015 Blaines winner, quickly in 74 minutes. The Latvian player's performance did not slow down until after the match. It took Ostapenko nearly 20 minutes to get from the field to the dressing room; Hundreds of hands reached out, armed with cell phones and signature pens. Ostapenko patiently signed autographs and willingly smiled for the cameras, thoroughly enjoying the atmosphere in the hall and the support of the audience. She also hopes the fans will cheer her on in the final on Sunday at 2pm. “Thank you for coming, it's a pleasure to play here,” the 26-year-old from Riga said. “The final will be very tough, but I feel like I'm playing better every game, and I hope I can do it again tomorrow. I hope you'll join us again and cheer me on.”

Overall, the Upper Austria Women's Championship Linz 2024, which celebrates its debut as a WTA 500 tournament, offers prize money of US$922,573. The winner receives the new iconic Swarovski trophy decorated with 8,100 crystals. Singer-songwriter from Upper Austria Inna Regin will provide the musical atmosphere before the individual final – in keeping with Upper Austria Day. In the doubles final after the singles, the Italians Sara Errani and Yasmine Paolini will meet the top-seeded duo of Nicole Melichar Martinez (USA) and Elaine Perez (Australia).

Wheelchair Nations Cup in Germany

That was successful revenge! In the Wheelchair Nations Cup, which was held between the best wheelchair tennis players from Austria and Germany, Germany eventually won 2-1. Austria (with Christina Piesendorfer and Nico Langmann) won in the mixed doubles over the duo of Britta Wind and Anthony Dittmar from Germany. Dietmar and Wind dominated both singles matches. In July 2023, the players competed against each other at the Hamburg European Open. At that time, the Austrian team managed to win exciting matches. The inclusion event was again supported by the Volkshilfe Oberösterreich this year.

Tickets for the 33rd edition of the Upper Austria Women's Championship in Linz are available at the Design Center Linz via the following link: Online ticket store It is available at all Ö-Ticket offices.