Upper Austria Ladies

Alexandrova wins Linz – but no handshake

Winner Ekaterina Alexandrova

(Bild: APA/EXPA/REINHARD EISENBAUER)

All good things come in threes for Ekaterina Alexandrova: After losing two previous finals, the 30-year-old Russian won the title for the first time in her third attempt at the final at the Upper Austria Ladies in Linz. 

The battle to win the tournament could hardly have been more thrilling on Sunday, with the number four seed Alexandrova prevailing 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 after 2:11 hours. Jamstreka had almost turned around a 2:6,0:3 deficit in her Linz final debut.

Alexandrova dictated the action in the first set, partly because Jastremska made too many mistakes. At 3:0 in the second set, everything pointed to a quick decision before the Ukrainian suddenly shone with numerous winners and strong serves. With nine games in a row, she seemed to be pulling the teeth out of her opponent, but the match took another turn in the third set with Jastremska leading 3-0. Alexandrova brought almost everything back and Jastremska acted too risky and impatient at times. Many mistakes crept back into her game. The Russian's break to 6:5 was decisive, as she only converted her fifth match point.

3rd final brought luck
The world no. 30 had previously defeated the top seed Karolina Muchova from the Czech Republic in the semi-finals and had started as the favorite. "It was an incredibly tough match," said Alexandrova in the almost sold-out Design Center. She had lost 3:6, 1:6 to Italy's Camila Giorgi in the Linz final in 2018 and 2:6, 3:6 to Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko last year. "The tournament has always been special for me. I'm super happy and relieved that I've finally made it to the very top in my third appearance in the final. Linz will always be in my heart."

After Shenzhen 2020, Seoul and s'Hertogenbosch 2022 and the latter also in 2023, she once again lifted a WTA winner's trophy, this time a Swarovski Cup. 500 points for the ranking and prize money of 147,765 US dollars were also on offer. In the head-to-head with Jastremska, she drew 3:3, with all three of the duels she won taking place on hard court.

Jastremska refused to shake hands
While Alexandrova also had positive words for Jastremska, the reverse was not the case. Due to the war in her home country, the Ukrainian also refused to shake hands after the match and quickly disappeared into the catacombs. She then returned to the court for the award ceremony. In her speech, she also made reference to the recent Russian attacks on her home town of Odessa, thus providing the reason for her behavior.

From a sporting point of view, the 24-year-old was satisfied. "It was an incredible week. I'm proud of myself. I hope it continues like this and gets a bit better," said the world number 72. In any case, she still has to wait for her fourth WTA title after those in Hong Kong in 2018, Hua Hin and Strasbourg in 2019. "I had so many chances in the match, but sometimes you lose and sometimes you win," summed up Jastremska, for whom 31 winners were not enough for victory.