Andreeva Wins Linz, Thanks Herself Again

Down 6-1 against an opponent firing on all cylinders, Mirra Andreeva had two choices: check out or dig in.

The 18-year-old chose the latter—and delivered. On Sunday, she stormed back to claim her fifth career WTA singles title on the red clay in Linz, improving to 5-1 in finals with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Anastasia Potapova.

After a one-sided opening set, Andreeva settled in and began to make Potapova work for every point. She returned with verve and broke serve in three consecutive return games late in the match to seal her second title of the season, adding to her triumph in Adelaide.

“It was not easy, but we made it through,” Andreeva said, before slipping into her now-familiar post-title persona:

“I want to thank myself—for fighting until the end, for trying to find solutions, for never stopping and believing until the end that maybe, somehow, I could turn it around. I think it paid off today,” she said with a smile.

The loss did little to dampen the spirits of Potapova, who was contesting her first final in over a year. Ranked No. 97 at the start of the week, the former World No. 21 is projected to rise to No. 54 in the rankings.

“First of all, I want to say good job to Mirra,” Potapova said. “You are an unbelievable player. You’re so young and have so many years ahead of you. I hope you achieve all your dreams, because you really deserve it.”

The 2023 Linz champion (when the event was still played on hard courts) Potapova, who switched nationalities from Russia to Austria last December, became the first Austrian to reach the final since the tournament’s debut on the WTA calendar in 1991.

“For me to stand here and hold this unbelievable trophy now—I really want to say thanks, because you helped me to be here and to become the best version of myself.”

Andreeva struck 32 winners to 35 unforced errors, while Potapova hit 30 winners against 42 unforced errors. Andreeva won 10 of 11 points at net and converted five of 12 break points. Potapova was clinical on her chances, converting all five break points she earned, but ultimately lost four of the final five games.

Andreeva improves to a perfect 9-0 this season against players ranked outside the Top 50, and becomes the first Top 10 player to win the Linz title since Dominika Cibulkova in 2016.