Jaqueline Cristian, defeated after three sets in the 1st round of the WTA 500 tournament in Linz

Two of the three Romanian players entered directly into the main draw in Linz were scheduled to play on day two, and the first entered on indoor clay, on Court 1, Jaqueline Cristian.

Favorite 6 of the competition, she met the Tamara Korpatschwith whom he had faced only once before, in 2020, also on clay, in the qualifications of the Prague tournament. Germanca prevailed then with 6-1, 7-6 (6)but time has put a layer of dust over that match.

Or at least that's how it seemed in the first set of the match in Linz, one in which the Romanian broke in the third game, then preserved the advantage until she won it with 6-4. Jaqueline was the noticeably more confident player on her own, all starting with excellent service management.

Has not lost a single point in 18 first-ball runs, having a high rate of frequency, 82%. On the other hand, Korpatsch committed two double faults and was more vulnerable overall.

Jaqueline Cristian, dramatic fall in the game in the second set

The bright picture painted for Cristian in the opening act darkened suddenly and drastically in the second set. After having a break point in the first game, she immediately surrendered her serve to zero, and against the backdrop of a more aggressive game from her opponent. Tamara hit some exceptional game winners, including a long line drive in the fourth game that gave her her second break and 4-0 on the board.

That's when Jaq sprang back, recovering a break, only to immediately concede once more and lose the set with 1-6. He looked uncomfortable on the field from one point on and it showed in the game and on the scoreboard.

50%just was the percentage on the frequency of the first serve in the second set, and efficiency of only 25%

Jaqueline Cristian, defeated in three sets in Linz

The decider started just as badly for Cristian, who lost her serve, but was more active in the third game, when she saved two more break chances of her opponent. Next, the Romanian played better, but was unable to really threaten the German's serve.

She hung on as long as she could, but gave up her serve once again, frustrated and without real solutions to her opponent. But again he had a start when Korptasch was serving for the match, recovering a break. The Romanian managed several extraordinary comebacks in her career, when she came out of situations that seemed unsolvable. Not this time either: She lost 4-6 in the decider to Tamara Korpatsch in her first clay court match of the season.

11,309 eurosand Jaqueline Cristian received a WTA point for her presence in the 1st round of the tournament in Linz

Jaqueline has fond memories of Linz, where she was on the main draw for the fourth time. In 2021, when the tournament was played at the end of the season, in October, she played the first final of her career here, losing badly to the American Alison Riske-Armitraj, 6-2, 2-6, 5-7.

This year, the Romanian reached the “eighties” for the first time at a WTA 1000 tournament, in Miami, contested the same phase in Dubai and advanced to the “quarters” in Adelaide.