Alison Riske and Jaqueline Cristian fight for their first triumph in Linz

Linz, 11. 11. 2021 - Alison Riske against Jaqueline Cristian, USA against Romania! That's the final of the 31st edition of the WTA tournament "Upper Austria Ladies Linz" on Friday, 12 November at 7 pm in the TipsArena! The parallels between the finalists: Both benefited from injuries to their semi-final opponents on Thursday.
 
An injury rarely comes alone: Simona Halep first shocked tournament director Sandra Reichel with the news that she would not be able to play the semi-final match against her compatriot Jaqueline Cristian scheduled for 8 p.m. due to a painful injury in her left knee. Cristian's opponent in the final was therefore determined in the US duel between Alison Riske and Danielle Collins.
 
There was a great atmosphere in the packed TipsArena, and the two friends exchanged blows. At 7.05 pm, Riske won the first set 7:5 and sat down on the bench for a well-earned break. Little did she realise that she could already look forward to reaching the final. Danielle Collins' right hand injury, which had already caused her problems in the quarter-final against Alison van Uytvanck, made itself felt again. The 27-year-old was unable to continue the match, gave up and congratulated her 31-year-old friend on reaching the final of the "Upper Austria Ladies Linz 2021."
 
One thing is already certain: a new name will be added to the list of winners of the women's tennis classic in Linz. Because neither Riske, number 73 in the WTA ranking, nor Cristian, who is ranked 100th, have celebrated a tournament success in Linz!
 
The final day will be opened by the doubles final between a Chinese and a Russian duo! Xinyu Wang/Saisai Zheng will face Natela Dzalamidze/Kamilla Rakhimova.