Andreeva Stops Cirstea, Reaches Linz Semis on Debut

Mirra Andreeva weathered a storm of first-strike power from 36-year-old Sorana Cirstea on Friday in Linz, eventually edging past the Romanian, 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-2, to reach the semifinals of the Upper Austria Ladies Open on debut.

After taking the opening set, the 18-year-old World No. 10 came under intense pressure as Cirstea raised her level.

“I practiced so many times against her, but we never played an official match,” Andreeva said.
“She’s an amazing player. She likes to take the ball early—she’s very aggressive. At some point in the second set, I was like, ‘When are you going to stop?’ She started a game on my serve with three winners, and then on her serve hit more winners—I was like, what am I supposed to do here?”

So what did she do?

“I just tried to activate my legs more and figure out what was going wrong,” Andreeva said. “I started thinking about what I could improve, what I could do better on court. It wasn’t meant to be in the second set, but I’m very happy with how I played in the third.”

Cirstea, a three-time Linz quarterfinalist, is making her final appearance at the Austrian event, with the former World No. 21 planning to retire at the end of the season. The Romanian has already enjoyed a strong 2026 campaign, claiming her fourth career title on home soil in Cluj-Napoca in February, where she defeated Emma Raducanu in the final.

Andreeva will next face another Romanian, Elena-Gabriela Ruse, in the semifinals. Ruse advanced by defeating former Linz champion Jelena Ostapenko, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.

Andreeva had lost four of her previous five deciding sets coming into the match, but showed composure when it mattered most. When told that her coach, Conchita Martinez, had texted tournament emcee Barbara Schett to praise her poise, Andreeva smiled:

“If she said that I stayed composed, I’m super happy, because it’s probably true,” she said. “I hope she’s proud of me for winning a tough match.”

Cirstea trailed 3-0 in the deciding set but won eight consecutive points to close to 3-2. Andreeva responded immediately, reeling off seven straight points to halt the surge—she would not lose another game.

Elsewhere, hometown favorite Lilli Tagger will face Anastasia Potapova, while Donna Vekic meets Karolina Pliskova in the other semifinal clashes on Friday in Linz.