From junior No 1 to second WTA singles title: Potapova coming into her own on the pro tour
Potapova defeats Croatia’s Petra Martic in straight sets to win the WTA Linz Open on Sunday
Anastasia Potapova during the 2023 WTA Linz Tournament
Image Credit: Imago / Panoramic
A former junior world No 1 and junior Grand Slam winner is coming into her own on the WTA Tour. On Sunday, Russia’s Anastasia Potapova, who won the Wimbledon girls singles title in 2016, captured her second career WTA singles title with a straight sets win over Croatia’s Petra Martic in the final of the WTA Linz Open.
The 21-year-old eighth seed, who is coached by former ATP top 20 player Igor Andreev, needed only one hour and 17 minutes to beat a player older to her by a decade.
Potapova saved four of five break points against her serve and converted five of 10 opportunities she had on Martic’s serve to stamp her authority in the final, which lasted one hour and 17 minutes.
The win improved Potapova’s head-to-head over Martic to 2-1 and stopped a streak of seven consecutive three set matches (four this week and three last week in Lyon), of which she had won six.
The win will also see her break into the top 35 of the world rankings on Monday for the first time in her career, having been ranked 75th at this time last year.
