Magda Linette Advances to the Final of WTA 250 in Guangzhou with Impressive Win over Rebecca Masarova

WP SportoweFakty / Tomasz Fijałkowski / In the photo: Magda Linette

Rafał Smoliński September 21, 2023, 15:22

Magda Linette will fight for the final of the WTA 250 competition on hard courts in Guangzhou. On Thursday, the Polish tennis player saved set points in each game and defeated Spaniard Rebecca Masarova 7:5, 7:6(6).

Due to the heat, the organizers decided to delay the start of the matches in Guangzhou again. Magda Linette and Rebeka Masarova went to the center court after 7:00 p.m. local time, when it was already evening in China. The Pole turned out to be better than the Spanish in two sets, although in both sets she was in serious trouble.

The match started brilliantly for Masarova. The fifth-ranked tennis player surprised the Poznań player already in the first game and after a good line play (the Pole claimed it was out), she scored a break.

This early break turned out to be a source of major problems for Linette. The tournament’s number one team fought to make up for the loss, but Masarova held her serve for a long time. When in danger, she either launched a pass or sent strong and deep forehands. Thanks to this, she saved herself in the fourth and sixth games and scored 4:2.

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Linette failed to get a return break in the eighth game and was already losing 3:5. In the ninth game, the Pole was two balls away from defeat in the premiere, but she saved her serve. After the sides had changed, the moment of truth had arrived. Masarova quickly jumped to 40-0 and had three set points.

However, when the Spaniard left the service, the Pole stepped in. Our representative won the next three points and equalized the score. After a while she had break points. Masarova still defended two of them. On the third try, the Pole played a brilliant rally and scored the desired break. With hard work, she equalized the set at 5 points.

This was not the end of the opening game, but the initiative clearly belonged to the Pole. She probably won her application and got the score 6:5. After changing sides, Masarova found herself in trouble again. Linette sent a good return and had the set ball. Then there was a short exchange, and the Spaniard broke her forehand along the line and lost her serve. Furious about losing the set, she shot the ball out of the court, for which she received a warning from the referee.

The second part of the match was even more even. Both ladies watched the service carefully. There was only one break point in the entire set. In the sixth game, the Pole had an opportunity, but her opponent played a service ace. Since there were no breaks, the tie-break turned out to be decisive.

Masarov opened the 13th game better. After a double fault, Linette was leading 3-1, and a great backhand down the line gave her a 4-2 lead at the change of ends. After the Spanish shortcut, the score was 5-5. After a while, the Pole had to defend the set ball, but she sent an excellent cross-country backhand. After the second change of sides, Masarova was completely lost. First, she broke her forehand and gave the Pole a match ball. After a while, she had to finish a straight ball at the net, but she made a forehand mistake again and the duel was over.

After two hours and three minutes, Linette won 7:5, 7:6(6). It was her first meeting with Masarova on professional courts. On Thursday, our tennis player had three aces, two double faults, nine finishing strokes and 15 own faults. The Spaniard played more offensively. She had 11 aces, four double faults, and finished 35 balls and made 42 unforced errors. In total, the Pole scored nine points more than her (86-77).

Linette’s opponent in Friday’s semi-final of the WTA 250 competition in Guangzhou will be Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva.

Galaxy Holding Group Guangzhou OpenGuangzhou (China)
WTA 250, hard court, prize pool of PLN 259,300. dollars
Thursday, September 21

singles quarterfinal:

Magda Linette (Poland, 1) – Rebeka Masarova (Spain, 5) 7:5, 7:6(6)

Read also:
Changes in the WTA ranking. A great return to the Top 10
ATP ranking after the Davis Cup. Which place of Hubert Hurkacz?
Watch WTA Tour matches with Iga Świątek, Magda Linette and other top players on CANAL+ online (sponsored link)

2023-09-21 13:22:39
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