Jelena Ostapenko: Number 1 is playing her way into the hearts of Linz fans

Jelena Ostapenko has so far lived up to her role as favorite at the 33rd Upper Austria Ladies in the Linz Design Center. The 26-year-old, ranked twelfth in the world rankings, fought her way into the semi-finals of the tennis tournament despite being very tired. This required a midnight performance on Thursday against Clara Tauson, the Danish qualifier put up bitter resistance and even found a match point before she had to admit defeat at the witching hour (12:10 a.m.).

In the quarter-finals, Ostapenko should appear well-rested and not give the British Jodie Burrage any chance at 6:1, 6:2 (after only 70 minutes). “I played very well,” said the winner from Riga, who made it to the final in Linz in 2019. That is her goal again this year because she likes the tournament and the scenery. “The stands were full, the audience gave me great support. It was a joy,” emphasized Ostapenko after her performance in front of around 2,500 eyewitnesses.

The former French Open winner (2017) only landed in Upper Austria on Wednesday – after a long flight from Melbourne. “It’s a bit tiring. But when I go out on the pitch, I want to win. And I managed to do that twice. On Thursday the conditions weren’t the best, but I found a way,” reported Ostapenko, who, by the way, told her Outfit created in cooperation with the outfitter himself.

On Saturday (2 p.m.) in the semifinals, the women with the tough groundstrokes will be back on the list. The same applies to Croatian Donna Vekic, who qualified for the semifinals with a 6:0, 7:6 (3) win over Clara Burel (Fra). Vekic’s next opponent will be the Russian Ekaterina Alexandrowa, who has also not lost a set yet. The schnitzel lover, who lives in Prague, beat her compatriot Anastassija Potapova 6:2, 7:6 (8). This means the defending champion has been dethroned.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean that there has to be a new Linz winner. Because one still has a chance of her second coup in Upper Austria. We’re talking about Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who already triumphed here in 2015. The Russian is in the last four this year after a convincing 6:2, 6:3 win over number four seeded Belgian Elise Mertens. But now the biggest hurdle awaits: Ostapenko.

There are still tickets left for the showdown this weekend. The final takes place on Sunday at 2 p.m. The star guest is former world number one Ana Ivanovic, who won twice in Linz and will be treated to Kaiserschmarrn on Saturday.