Linz Open: Anastasia Potapova pips Petra Martic to clinch second career trophy

Anastasia Potapova never broke into a sweat as she completed a 6-3, 6-1 win over Petra Martic to hoist the Linz Open title on Sunday. The eighth seed needed merely 76 minutes to wrap up the proceedings.

The start of the match, however, looked different for Potapova as she went down a break in the first game of the first set. She also faced four break points in her second service game but was able to save the lot. As it turned out, it was the only time in the match, the 21-year-old lost her serve.

Potapova went on to regain the break back in the fourth game and never looked back in the match after that point. Meanwhile, the sixth seed was visibly struggling at the other side of the net. Serving to stay in the set in the ninth game, Martic dropped her serve giving Potapova the lead in the match.

The second set was entirely one-sided in Potapova’s favour, thereafter. The decisive end to the match came in the seventh game on the Croatian’s serve as Potapova secured one more break for herself to get the win.

Linz Open: The numbers behind Anastasia Potapova’s surge

Potapova won 67% of her first-serve points to Martic’s 58% and 55% of her second-serve points. She also won 73% points on return on Martic’s second serve. She converted five of the 10 break points that came her way on Martic’s serve while saving four of the five break points she faced. In fact, all five break points Potapova faced came in the first two games of the first set.

After the win, Potapova shared, “Well, it was a tough week. Let’s be honest, it was an unexpected result at the end, as I came here not in the best conditions. I was in pain, I was a little bit injured everywhere, let’s say. After the first match, I just said, ‘Well, if I can bring this level, maybe I can try to go further and further in the draw.’ I managed to do this, and every day I was feeling better and better, and it turned out that on the final day, I was as fresh as I could be, and I felt even better than before the first round. It’s funny but it’s true.”

The Linz Open title’s the second of Anastasia Potapova’s career. Her first came in Istanbul, in 2021. Incidentally, Potapova had defeated Petra Martic in the round-of-16 of that event en route to the title.

Photo Credit: Linz Open Twitter