Julia Grabher and Sinja Kraus fail in round one

Linz, 8. 11. 2021 - Two ÖTV players, one fate: Julia Grabher and Sinja Kraus lost their first round matches at the "Upper Austria Ladies Linz 2021" in the TipsArena on Monday afternoon. The 25-year-old from Vorarlberg put in a strong performance, but was beaten 6:7, 4:6 by Alize Cornet from France, while the 19-year-old from Vienna lost 1:6, 0:6 to Alison van Uytvanck from Belgium.

Sinja Kraus was the first to enter centre court with great ambition. And for 52 minutes she was able to savour the aroma of the big, wide world of tennis before leaving the arena visibly disappointed. The first few games were hard-fought, Sinja Kraus had resolved to "play courageously", but then the Belgian, currently number 69 in the WTA rankings, found her rhythm more and more. For Austria's top talent, her debut at WTA level was a valuable experience. And Alison van Uytvanck, who has already won five WTA tournaments and almost 3.5 million US dollars in prize money, had words of encouragement for her young opponent: "Sinja has good beginnings, but of course she still lacks experience!" Which is probably in the nature of things! "Yes, of course," said Sinja Kraus, "I was overly nervous at the beginning, but I started quite well, but then Alison always had better answers and really found her game." Sinja Kraus was back in action in the doubles on Monday evening - alongside Julia Grabher, who she had previously been rooting for in her singles match against Alize Cornet.
 
Julia Grabher hadn't even really got into the game when it was already 2:0 in favour of the Frenchwoman. But she wasn't able to enjoy her lead for long, as the Vorarlberg native equalised at 2:2 and took a comfortable 4:2 advantage. And the spirited Frenchwoman roared her frustration loudly through the TipsArena! Grabher and Cornet then engaged in an open exchange of blows that led to a tie-break. At 7/6, the ÖTV player had the set win on her racket, but she made a double fault at this crucial moment. In the end, Cornet was delighted with her 7:6 (9/7) win.
 
"It's a shame that Julia didn't capitalise on two set points. She was on her game, but Cornet scored the important points. The Frenchwoman simply has more experience and is a little better tactically," analysed tournament ambassador Barbara Schett. ÖTV sports coordinator Marion Maruska added: "Julia has improved a lot compared to last year, especially with her forehand. Cornet didn't like the fact that she couldn't act but mostly had to react."