Mirra Andreeva advanced to her second WTA Tour final of the year on Saturday, beating Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-4, 6-1 in the Linz Open semi-final.
Top seed Andreeva broke in Ruse’s opening service game, but then lost her own serve twice. Ruse was broken to love in the eighth game, however, and after pulling level at 4-4 Andreeva broke again to take the first set 6-4. The world number ten dominated the second set, breaking in the fourth and sixth games before serving out a 6-4, 6-1 win after one hour and 27 minutes.
Anastasia Potapova will return to the final for the first time since she won the title on her debut three years ago, defeating Donna Vekic 6-4, 6-2 in the other semi-final. Potapova took an early double lead to go 4-1 up; Vekic fought back and had the chance to level, but Potapova held to take the opening set. She then dominated the second set to build a 4-0 lead and secured her first win over Vekic in their last three meetings.
Potapova’s victory makes her the first Austrian to reach the tournament final since the event was added to the Tour calendar in 1991; she represented Russia until December 2025. The final will be the pair’s fourth meeting, with 18-year-old Andreeva having beaten Potapova in their last two match-ups. They have not yet played each other on clay.
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