Top seed Ostapenko wins in a "midnight session"

At 0.10 a.m., top seed Jelena Ostapenko secured her place in the quarter-finals after a real thriller against the young Danish star Clara Tauson in a "midnight session". In the tie-break of the third set on Friday night, the world number twelve from Latvia finally converted her third match point to win 3:6, 6:4, 7:6 (9:7) and let out a loud cry of relief with her fists clenched. "I wasn't in my best shape, I only travelled from Australian on Wednesday. But I'm very proud that I fought to the last point," said the 26-year-old. She shouted "thank you" in German to the spectators who stayed until after midnight. The 2019 Linz finalist also raved about the city of Linz: "I had a wonderful morning walk in the city." Ostapenko likes Linz - and the people of Linz like her.

Donna Vekic, another crowd favourite, defeated the Australian Open semi-finalist Dayana Yastremska from Ukraine with a surprisingly clear 6:1, 6:1 on the drama-packed "Family Day" organised by Oberösterreichische Versicherung. Yastremska had no chance against Vekic, her jet lag and tiredness from the long journey from Australia were still noticeable. "It wasn't as clear-cut as the result would suggest, there were a lot of very close matches," said the Croatian Vekic afterwards and hoped to stay in the tournament herself until the weekend. The 27-year-old is competing in Upper Austria for the seventh time and feels a very special connection to the crowd: "There are no more Austrians in the competition, maybe the fans will adopt me as a local. I always feel very comfortable in Linz, it's very familiar here." Her parents have travelled all the way from Croatia again this year.
 
Yastremska, who sensationally reached the semi-finals as a qualifier in Melbourne, had to be consoled by tournament director Sandra Reichel after the match. "I'm pretty drained and tired, I've played a lot in the last few weeks. Today I really had no energy left, I left everything on the court. This year has gone very well for me so far, but now I really need a break," said the 23-year-old, who will now be travelling home to her family in Odessa.
 
The new number one in the doubles world rankings, Elise Mertens, who won the doubles final alongside Taiwanese player Hsieh Su-wei in Melbourne on Sunday, had her fatigue well under control. The Belgian finalist from Linz in 2020 gave the Italian Lucia Bronzetti a run for her money with her powerful game and advanced to the quarter-finals of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz with a 6:1 and 6:3 win. "I served particularly well in the first set, which made it much easier, I was at the net a lot and played really well. I like the hall, it's so convenient right next to the hotel," said Mertens, emphasising the advantages of the venue, and promptly left for a little afternoon nap.
 
Anastasia Potapova was in a great mood during the morning warm-up, joking with her trainer and caressing her little dog called Baby in between. The toy poodle followed the training session, wagging happily. In the dramatic evening match against Elisabetta Cocciaretto, which lasted 2:54 hours, Potapova was also able to make good use of her four-legged friend's encouragement. The Italian played without respect, hit some unbelievable balls and took the first set 6:2. It was only after a good hour and a half that Cocciaretto's strength began to wane and Potapova took the set 7:6 (11) in a tie-break. It was a similar picture in the third round, with the Italian running and fighting for every ball, while Potapova had a battle of words with her coach Igor. But these emotions brought last year's winner back into the match, and after fending off two match points, she finally secured set three 7:5. "It's simply unbelievable how Elisabetta played. It was amazing! She'll be in the final here next year," said Potapova, analysing the marathon match. "I'm really knackered and my coach is also exhausted," she said with a twinkle in her eye. After the three-set thriller, many spectators in the hall were reminded of last year, when Potapova fought her way from round to round - and ultimately to victory in the tournament.

The quarter-finals are completed by Clara Burel from France, who defeated Katerina Siniakova from the Czech Republic 6:3, 5:7, 6:4.
 
Numerous partners visit the Design Centre
 
The supporting programme of the women's tennis classic was once again packed with celebrities. On the "Family Day" organised by Oberösterreichische Versicherung at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz, Linz's Deputy Mayor Karin Hörzing was already in action early in the morning. Hörzing, initiator of the "Fun and games with the stars" campaign, tasted a healthy snack with the youngest of the tournament's blue-clad ball kids.
 
Ele", the mascot of Oberösterreichische Versicherung, was also able to fortify himself, as the cuddly elephant was in constant use throughout the day, as a photo partner and in the distribution of small gifts to the young visitors, which Board Director Kathrin Kühtreiber-Leitner was able to see for herself.
 
In the afternoon, the men's and women's Bundesliga teams of FC Blau-Weiß Linz were represented in full squad strength by managing director Christoph Peschek, sports director Christoph Schösswendter and coach Gerald Scheiblehner. The players used the evening at the Design Centre for tactical warm-up training for the test match at Vienna on Friday. 
 
Furthermore, Upper Austria's governorDeputy Christine Haberlander, Linz City Councillor Doris Lang-Mayrhofer, Jutta Rinner (CEO of Linz AG), Herwig Mahr (FPÖ Landtagsclub OÖ), Kerstin Kitzmüller (Head of Sports Sponsoring at ADMIRAL Sportwetten), WKOÖ Vice President Leo Jindrak and State Police Director Andreas Pilsl were spotted around the centre court.