Minnen passes Yastremska test in Linz

LINZ, Austria - Greet Minnen pulled off the first big upset of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz, shocking No.3 seed Dayana Yastremska, 6-4, 6-3 in the first round.

"It's one of my biggest wins of the year," she said after the match. "It wasn't expected because I haven't been playing well the last few weeks, since the coronavirus stopped the season. When we resumed it was pretty rough for me and I didn't win a lot of matches. I'm just happy I found my game again, and I'm winning matches."

Minnen is closing in on a long-awaited Top 100 debut and needed just 77 minutes to outlast the Ukrainian youngster on Centre Court.

"I knew from the start that she would be a player who likes to dictate the game. She plays very aggressive. In the first few games, she didn't have a very good start, but then she served better and that helped her come back in the first set. I tried to keep my cool and keep playing aggressively myself. I think I did that pretty well."

The 24-year-old enjoyed an impressive start to 2020, qualifying for her maiden major main draw debut at the Australian Open and reaching the second round.

"I like these courts. The Hawkeye Live is pretty fun, and I also like Austria, in general."

Spending quarantine with partner and fellow WTA player Alison van Uytvanck, she won just two matches between Melbourne and Roland Garros before righting the ship by reaching a semifinal at an ITF Pro Circuit event earlier this month.

"The second week, I played semis and actually played a few good matches," she said of her North American sojourn. "The first and third weeks weren't as good, so that was a bit disappointing. I came to Linz on Thursday evening, and was two out of the main draw, so I got lucky to get in and have a few extra days to fight the jet lag.

"Alison is here with me. She's helping me out and is actually a really good coach. She knows how these courts are and how to play well on them. She gave me a lot of tips, both on the courts and how to face my opponent today."

Buoyed by that momentum, she took a quick double break lead on Yastremska, who herself had gone winless since the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, where she fell to eventual champion Simona Halep in the Round of 16. The No.3 seed nonetheless battled back, leveling the set and three games apiece before Minnen regained the initiative, nabbing a decisive break in the following game as she ultimately served out the set at love.

The second set followed in similar fashion; Yastremska rallied from 3-1 down only to lose serve as Minnen eased within a game of victory. Serving to stay in the match, the Ukrainian soon found herself down match point, which Minnen converted at her first opportunity.

In search of her first WTA quarterfinal of the season - having reached two in 2019 - the Belgian will next play either qualifier Harmony Tan or an in-form Barbora Krejcikova, who enjoyed a Grand Slam breakthrough last month at Roland Garros, reaching the fourth round.

"We'll have to see who wins, but I'll try to play aggressively against both of them."