WTA Linz: German Joy Day, Julia Grabher fails
The German women put in a perfect Monday at the WTA tournament in Linz. The Austrian Julia Grabher , however, had to say goodbye in the first round.
by Jörg Allmeroth / Tennisnet
last edit: Oct 07, 2019, 07:14 pm
Flawless Monday in Linz: After the qualification victories of Tamara Korpatsch, Laura Siegemund and Anna-Lena Friedsam, Andrea Petkovic did not have to be asked for a long time at the "Upper Austria Ladies" in Linz in the early evening: the Darmstadt player beat Jill Teichmann in her opening match in the main field (Switzerland) confidently with 6: 1 and 6: 1. Petkovic never let any doubts arise about the successful start to the strong tournament. “I am very happy with this start. It was very concentrated until the end, ”said the 32-year-old, who only showed a small weak moment at the start of the second set. But after the break Teichmanns to 0: 1 Petkovic won all subsequent six games.
In the second round, there could be a German duel with Julia Görges. Görges, who after the separation from her previous team (coach Sebastian Sachs and physiotherapist Florian Zitzelsberger) will be supervised by Fed Cup captain Jens Gerlach on a temporary basis in Linz and in Luxembourg, will meet the Russian Margarita Gasparjan in her first round match on Tuesday. The biggest surprise from a German point of view on Monday was Tamara Korpatsch from Hamburg, who clearly beat Wunderkind Cori Gauff 6: 4 and 6: 2. “Tamara's victory was completely deserved. She played very solid, ”said Gauff later.
Only one Austrian woman left
Anna-Lena Friedsam's performance at 6: 3, 4: 6, 6: 3 against the slightly favored American Shelby Rogers was also convincing. Friedsam is now dealing with Belinda Bencic, who is still hoping for points in Linz for possible participation in the WTA Finals in Shenzhen. Laura Siegemund's first task after winning the final qualifier against Czech Tereza Martincova now brings her together with the Italian Fiona Ferro.
From the Austrian perspective, however, the day was not so ideal. Julia Grabher was beaten 4: 6 and 2: 6 in the first round of the main competition Viktoria Kuzmova. With Barbara Haas there is now only one Austrian in the race - after Anastasija Sevastova's injury-related cancellation, she does not meet the Latvian as initially drawn, but Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.