The last few weeks have been extremely difficult for Magda Linette. Although she won in July in Prague, she was eliminated in subsequent tournaments at the initial stages of the competition. The fans believed that the Pole needed a few good matches to finally break through. And on Monday, our compatriot received a big boost in self-confidence. In the 1/16 finals of the WTA 1000 in Beijing, she defeated Jasmine Paolini, the fifth racket in the world, quite clearly.
Although the first set was even and ended with a score of 6:4 for Linette, in the second set the Pole completely dominated her opponent.. Suffice it to say that she didn't give up a single game and probably advanced to the 1/8 finals. “I was hungry” – she jokingly commented on her success at X. So she had no choice but to wait for her next opponent.
Linette met another one. The sensational 17-year-old advanced to the fourth round
This one was chosen by the fight between Mirra Andreeva and Donna Vekić. It was difficult to pick a favorite in this duel. Not only have the women never played against each other, but they are also close to each other in the WTA rankings – the Russian is 20th, while the Croatian is two places lower.
However, the match started much better for Vekić. She broke her opponent in the first game, although only using the second break point. The joy did not last long. The Croatian also lost her leg. In the fourth game, she did not keep her own serve, so the scoreboard was 2:2.
However, she quickly regained her composure. At the first opportunity, she received the Russian's pass and was again in the lead (3:2). And she didn't let him tear her away until the end. What's more, in the ninth game she broke Andreeva again, which finally ended the set – 6:3.
The fans were wondering whether the young Russian would mobilize herself for the second set and whether she would be able to keep up with the speeding Croatian. And the beginning of the competition indicated that he could achieve the goal. The game was played point by point. And although in the fourth game Andreeva again had trouble keeping the serve, this time she got out of trouble. What's more, she started to set the pace of the competition.
Game number nine turned out to be crucial. Then Vekić broke without any major problems, and in the next game, on her own serve, she won by 0, thus equalizing the set. – Offensive is the recipe – reported Żelisław Żyżyński, who commented on the meeting. The beginning of the third set was very even, and both players consistently kept serving.
Andreeva had an excellent ending. Two games to 0
Only in the fourth game did Vekić notice her opponent's weaker moment. Even though she missed two break points, she succeeded the third time. – Experience pays off – said Żyżyński, adding that the Croatian has less and less strength. And it was visible in the next game, when Andreeva broke it to 0. After a while it was already 3:3, and we saw Vekić in the service box again. This time she proved that she would not give up until the very end and came out on top.
The Russian, feeling a lot of pressure, started making mistakes. Her opponent even had two break points, but she was unable to maintain concentration. Fans could watch increasingly longer and more exciting exchanges on the court in Beijing. In the ninth game, Vekić also made mistakes, which the 17-year-old mercilessly took advantage of. – Andreyeva plays phenomenally – Żyżyński was excited. Ultimately, she won by 0 and had a chance to win the entire match. The last game was just a show of strength from the Russian, who also won it to 0.
Mirra Andreeva – Donna Vekić 3:6, 6:4, 6:4
Magda Linette will therefore face an equally difficult challenge in the fourth round as the competition with Jasmine Paolini. The Linette-Andreeva match will take place on Wednesday. So far, both players have faced each other twice and the result is a draw.