Upper Austria Ladies: Muchova – struggling with thigh discomfort – reaches semi-finals

Top seed Karolina Muchova advanced to the last 4 of the Upper Austria Ladies by beating Russian Anastasia Potapova, the No 6 seed, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 at the TipsArena in Linz on Friday evening.

After the match, the Czech stated:

It was a very tough match. She played really great. I lost a bit of focus in the second set, and she just took a chance. I’m glad I managed it. Even the last game, it could’ve gone either way if she broke me. 

“I was just thinking where I was going to serve … to serve it out. I just really wanted to finish it. I was just trying to be focused, and the serve in the last game really helped me.”

I’m glad I managed it. Even the last game, it could’ve gone either way if she broke me

Muchova was incredibly clutch during the match, saving 11 of the 12 break points that she faced, including four as she attempted to serve out the crucial first set – and then a further three in the final game.

Muchova, ranked No 19, will face the winner of the match between Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova, the No 4 seed, and Croat qualifier Petra Martic next.

In the previous round of the Linz tournament, Karolina Muchova won against Spanish qualifier Sara Sorribes Tormo (6-2, 6-3).

Potapova, ranked No 33, won against Austrian wildcard Julia Grabher (6-2, 6-2) and Slovak Rebecca Sramkova (7-6 (1), 6-4) in the previous rounds of the Linz tournament.

Linz WTA 500, other quarter-finals results (TipsArena, hard, USD 1.064.510, most recent results first):

• Ekaterina Alexandrova vs. Petra Martic
• Clara Tauson (8) beat Anna Blinkova: 6-4, 6-3
• Dayana Yastremska (5) beat Maria Sakkari (3): 7-5, 6-0