18-Year-Old Tagger Advances in Dramatic Fashion in Linz

Lilli Tagger was having so much fun during her round-of-16 pressure cooker with Liudmila Samsonova in Linz that she even joined in the Mexican wave between sets with her hometown fans.

On court, she was all business, saving eight set points in the second set to earn the biggest win of her career over the No. 21-ranked Samsonova, 6-2, 7-6(11).

“It was a crazy match, especially at the end,” Tagger said after reaching her first WTA quarterfinal on clay. “She is an amazing player. She has such a fast game, so it was very fast for me sometimes, but I think I managed it well.”

Tagger will face either Anastasia Potapova or Tamara Korpatsch in the last eight at the WTA 500 event.

“Honestly, it feels like a dream, playing in Austria,” she said. “I think it’s my best tournament so far at this level. I didn’t realize it yet, but it’s amazing.”

Tagger had a 6-2, 4-2 lead but struggled to close out the No. 3 seed. Samsonova broke for 4-5, then held for 6-5 and soon earned a pair of set points. With Tagger serving at 5-6, 30-40, the 18-year-old outrallied the Russian and forced a forehand error. Two points later, she did the same, benefitting when a Samsonova backhand sailed wide.

In the tiebreak, she saved six more set points before finally converting her third match point to seal the win.

Tagger hit 20 winners against 16 unforced errors, while Samsonova struck 23 winners and 34 unforced errors. The Austrian saved four of five break points and converted three of her own.

Tagger, last year’s Roland Garros girls’ singles champion, is coached by former Roland Garros champion Francesca Schiavone. She is up to a career-high No. 97 in the live rankings and should make her Top 100 debut next week.

Tagger is the first Austrian woman to win the junior title in Paris, and she was ranked just inside the Top 600 this time last year.