It's a shame for Mira Antonitsch that, like last year, she couldn't use her qualifying wildcard. The 21-year-old, placed 641st in the WTA ranking, lost on Saturday evening against Jaqueline Cristian (WTA 159), who was one year older, with 2: 6, 4: 6. The Romanian had already played her first professional tournament as a 14-year-old and won her first points for the world rankings.
When asked whether the corona pandemic had thrown her out of step, Mira Antonitsch replied: “I think Corona disrupts our rhythm. I've tried to make the best of it, I've done a lot physically and I've tried to eradicate deficits. ”So what's next? “It is very difficult to plan. That often has to happen from day to day, I will probably play at ITF level again. But where is the question, ”said Antonitsch. Her greatest wish at the moment: "That it will hopefully get better in the world soon."
Veronika Bokor had worked out her wild card herself - with her triumph in the “Upper Austria Young Ladies Wild Card Challenge.” The young Lower Austrian lost 3: 6, 1: 6 against Swiss Stefanie Vögele - the 30-year-old is up 123rd place in the WTA ranking. “You could see that she is the more experienced player. For me it is really cool that I can be there because I won the wildcard. The Wildcard Challenge is a really great competition. I've been there three times. The fact that no spectators are allowed here is not necessarily a disadvantage for me. I would have been even more excited with fans. My goal is of course to start a professional career, otherwise I wouldn't be here now. "
Ana Konjuh was not granted a win on her comeback either. The 22-year-old, who completed her first WTA tournament since February 2019 in Linz after a long ordeal (four shoulder operations since 2017), lost to the 20-year-old Ukrainian Katarina Sawazka (WTA 133) 7: 6 (3) , 4: 6, 2: 6. Konjuh was once considered a "Croatian child prodigy", had won the junior competitions at the Australian Open and US Open in 2013, was already among the top 100 at the age of 16, won her first (and so far only) WTA tournament in Nottingham in 2015 and climbed on 31 July 2017 up to 20th place in the world rankings - before her injury misery began with an elbow operation.
Lisicki managed to take revenge against Schoofs
Sabine Lisicki, who also had to struggle with many injuries in recent years, was finally able to celebrate again. The Berliner had to cope with a leg and shoulder injury (2017), a knee operation (2018), and to top it all off, Pfeiffer's glandular fever (2019). But the now 31-year-old, who in 2013 was the first German since Steffi Graf (1999) to reach a Grand Slam final at Wimbledon, still holds the service world record at 211 km / h, is a stand-up woman. Lisicki (WTA 689) defeated the 32-year-old Dutch woman Bibiane Schoofs (WTA 200) deservedly 7: 5, 6: 3 and was beaming with happiness after the match point.
“It's great to be back on the court. Tennis is my calling and passion. I have had a difficult year and lost to Bibiane in 2019. At the beginning of the year I didn't have a ranking. Now, with my dad as a coach, things are progressing step by step. Corona is stressful for everyone, not just for me. But I look to the future with hope, ”said Sabine Lisicki, who will meet the fourth-placed Czech Teresa Martincova in the qualifying final on Sunday.
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