Sawt Falasteen - Andreeva opens clay court season with title in Linz

It is a second title this season for the 18-year-old, ranked 10 in the world, who also won in Adelaide in January.

Broken in her opening service game, Andreeva piled up unforced errors, especially on her forehand, and was swept aside by Potapova in just 29 minutes in the first set.

The top seed bounced back immediately, breaking the Potapova serve at the start of the second set and although she dropped her own service once, she broke again to level the match.

In the third set, the Russian-born Potapova, who has been competing this season under the Austrian flag, cracked under the power of Andreeva's raking shots into the corners.

Potapova, ranked 97 in the world, had been aiming for a second title in Linz, after the one she captured there in 2023 on hard courts at WTA 250 level.

After squandering her first championship point with a forehand into the net, Andreeva converted the second thanks to an unforced error from Potapova.

It was the first time that the Linz tournament, upgraded this year to WTA 500 status, was played on clay, having been staged on hard courts since its inception in 1991.

G.AbuOdeh--SF-PST