Jelena Ostapenko is the new queen of Linz! The world No. 12 convincingly won the premiere of the WTA 500 tournament in Upper Austria in Sunday’s final involving the top two players. The 2017 French Open winner and No. 1 seed from Latvia defeated No. 2 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-2, 6-3 in only 70 minutes at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz. “I played in the final here five years ago and didn’t get the winner’s trophy, but this year’s trophy is much nicer anyway,” joked the 26-year-old from Riga holding the new Swarovski trophy. When arriving in Linz, Ostapenko revealed that she collects Swarovski figurines and that she had her eye on the iconic one-off. And it really was a happy ending in the city on the Danube. “A big thank you to Sandra and her team, they spoil us and always look after us so well. I hope to be here again next year,” said Ostapenko during the trophy ceremony to great applause. For the third consecutive day, there was a capacity 2,500 crowd in Linz’s Design Center. In addition to the trophy adorned with 8,100 crystals, she also took home prize money totalling 123,480 euros. The defeated Alexandrova was gracious in defeat saying: “Congratulations to Jelena, she played great. Thanks to the fans, it was great fun to play in Linz again.” The world No. 21 lives not far away in Prague and is a regular at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz where she was the runner-up in 2018 against Camila Giorgi. On Upper Austria Day, the local singer-songwriter Ina Regen provided the musical backdrop to the final, while tennis legend Ana Ivanovic was honoured in advance on Centre Court and interviewed by Tournament Ambassador Barbara Schett. The 2008 and 2010 Linz winner, who had already completed a photo shoot in the “Schlossmuseum” earlier in the day, also tossed the coin before the singles final together with Upper Austria’s Governor Thomas Stelzer. Other guests of honour included Markus Achleitner, Upper Austrian Councillor for Economic Affairs and Sports, Klaus Luger, Mayor of Linz, and Karin Hörzing, Deputy Mayor of Linz. They saw a match that was typical for Ostapenko with her high-speed power tennis. The Australian Open doubles runner-up had only dropped one set in her three previous encounters – in her opening match on Thursday evening when she, despite jet lag and being a match point down, clinched the 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7) win against the young Danish star Clara Tauson just after midnight. “That’s what makes a champion, that you still fight your way through. After that I realised that I could win this tournament. And now I have the trophy!” It will take pride of place in her living room in Riga. “The trophy is so beautiful. I don’t have to hide it. I’ll put it in a place where I can always see it,” said the Latvian with a liking for interior design. In the Upper Austria Ladies Linz doubles final, the Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini took on the No. 1 seeds Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA) and Ellen Perez (Australia). With Errani’s experience and Paolini’s carefree attitude, the unseeded duo finally claimed the doubles title with a 7-5, 4-6, 10-8 win. All four doubles players were full of praise of the atmosphere in Linz. Melichar-Martinez was particularly grateful saying: “Thanks to Sandra! She is probably the best tournament organiser on the whole tour!” At the final award ceremony, tournament director Sandra Reichel was symbolically presented with the “Aces for Bees” donation by Kathrin Kühtreiber-Leitner, borad director of Oberösterreichische Versicherung. 346 aces were hit during the tournament, but Oberösterreichische rounded it up to 700. This means that 700 honeycombs will be handed over to beekeepers in Upper Austria. This campaign is part of the sustainability philosophy of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz, which was once again certified as a “Green Event” this year. |
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Linz
Alison Riske Prevails In Linz, Austria
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| Victory never tasted so sweet for Alison Riske. Two years removed from her most recent WTA Tour title, the 31-year-old US-American lifted a trophy once again, prevailing at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz on Friday. Elated and emotional, Riske raised her arms in triumph as the No. 8 seed needed two hours and 25 minutes to dismiss Romanian lucky loser Jaqueline Cristian 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 in a highly entertaining final. In front of packed stands at the TipsArena, the former World No. 18 capitalized on six of her 16 break-point chances, turning in a vintage Riske performance predicated on great returns and depth off her baseline shots. After losing eight of her previous nine finals and following her triumphs at the 2014 Tianjin Open as well as at s’Hertogenbosch in 2019, Riske captured her third career title on the WTA Tour. The World No. 73 didn’t drop a set en route to the championship match, edging out Mona Barthel of Germany, Frenchwoman Alize Cornet, Wang Xinyu of China and her compatriot Danielle Collins. “I would like to thank the crowd. You were truly unbelievable,” Riske said during the on-court ceremony. “It was special to play in front of a packed crowd. That is something we haven’t had for so long. I am so grateful for the support. It was a first-class event.” Riske earned €23,548 in prize money and pocketed 280 WTA Ranking points. Cristian: From lucky loser to runner-up Cristian’s journey in Linz almost ended before the main draw of the WTA Tour 250 tournament began. Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko beat the 23-year-old in three sets in the final of qualifying. But Sorana Cirstea and Viktorija Golubic withdrew, Cristian entered the main draw as a lucky loser and reached her first WTA final. The World No. 100 had battled past Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia, benefited from the retirement of Rebecca Peterson from Sweden, ousted No. 4 seed Veronika Kudermetova of Russia and received a walkover from second-seeded Romanian Simona Halep. “It was a great week, I am very positive on ending my season with this final,” Cristian said. The Bucharest native took away €13,224 in prize money as well as 180 WTA Ranking points. |
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Earlier in the day, Natela Dzalamidze and Kamilla Rakhimova took the doubles title. The third-seeded Russians defeated the all-Chinese combination of Wang Xinyu and Zheng Saisai 6-4, 6-2 in one hour and 17 minutes. Organizers with a positive week “It was a very turbulent and exciting event,” tournament director Sandra Reichel said on Friday. “After last year’s tournament behind closed doors, COVID-19 was a big topic again this year.” Tennis was of course in the foreground at Austria’s most important women’s sports event. “From a sporting point of view, I’m very happy that Emma Raducanu, Simona Halep and Danielle Collins were here. We saw great matches at a very high level,” analysed Reichel. She also revealed which player she would like to see in Linz: “Naomi Osaka.” Regarding the future of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz, Reichel added: “There are a few open questions, such as the date or the location due to the construction site in the stadium next door. We should know more in January. We are very happy that we were able to hold the tournament under all these circumstances. For the WTA, the visitors, the players as well as for our partners and sponsors.” by Florian Heer |
