No. 1 seed Karolina Muchova suffered a shock defeat within the Linz semifinal and didn’t make her first closing of the 12 months.
Within the second semifinal of the WTA 500 event in Linz, the highest seed did not have day on the workplace as world No. 30 and No. 4 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova claimed a 6-0 6-4 win in an hour and 13 minutes of play.
All through the match, the Czech struggled on her serve and ended up dropping her service 4 occasions.
On the opposite facet, Muchova additionally missed out on all of her 4 break level alternatives.
However whereas the Czech was undoubtedly the favourite to win this match, the reality is that Alexandrova has by no means been a simple opponent for her, contemplating that the Russian entered their match with a 3-1 head-to-head document.
Now, the world No. 30 has 4 wins and one loss in her conferences towards the 2023 French Open finalist.
Ekaterina Alexandrova© WTA Linz/Instagram – Truthful Use
On Sunday, Alexandrova will battle towards No. 5 seed Dayana Yastremska for the Linz title.
Earlier at the moment, the Ukrainian beat eighth-seeded Clara Tauson 6-1 6-4 within the first semifinal of the day.
How Alexandrova overcame Muchova?
Within the first set, the No. 1 seed misplaced her serve thrice but additionally didn’t convert break factors in two separate video games – the Czech missed out on two break factors within the second sport and likewise did not notice a break level within the sixth sport.
After getting bageled within the first set, the previous world No. 8 held on to her opening two service video games within the second set after which additionally had a break level for a 3-1 lead – however as soon as once more did not convert.
A few video games later, the punishment got here for Muchova as Alexandrova earned the primary break of the second set within the seventh sport.
Up by a set and having a 5-4 second-set lead, the fourth-seeded Russian did not miss out on the chance to shut out the match on her serve and full a two-set win.
