No.1 seed Jelena Ostapenko saved one match point en route to a remarkable comeback in the second round of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz, defeating qualifier Clara Tauson 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(7) in 2 hours and 21 minutes.

The Latvian, who had received a first-round bye, was playing her first match since losing in the Australian Open doubles final on Sunday. She trailed Tauson 4-1 in the second set, and the No.125-ranked Danish qualifier held match point as she served for the match at 5-3 in the third -- only for Ostapenko to end a high-octane exchange with a backhand winner.

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Ostapenko had lost to Tauson 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in their only previous meeting, in the 2021 Luxembourg final, but gained her revenge in a rollercoaster contest that featured several wild momentum swings. A slow start saw the former Roland Garros champion quickly fall 5-1 down, and she did not build any sustained form until two games from defeat in the second set.

But just as Ostapenko seemed in full flow, having levelled the match with a run of five straight games, Tauson raised her own level to edge out in front in the third set -- aided by a mounting tally of 12 aces.

However, down match point Ostapenko found another cascade of winners just in time, and in a tightly-contested tiebreak converted her third match point with a full-power forehand putaway. It was her 51st winner of the match, against 37 unforced errors.

"I'm really proud of myself that I was really fighting until the last point, even though I was down," Ostapenko said afterwards.

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Ostapenko wasn't the only player escaping from the brink of defeat on Thursday. Defending champion and No.5 seed Anastasia Potapova saved two match points in the second-set tiebreak before quelling Elisabetta Cocciaretto 2-6, 7-6(9), 7-5 in 2 hours and 54 minutes. Potapova needed two attempts to serve out the win, and four match points of her own, before sealing victory.

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Ostapenko will next face British qualifier Jodie Burrage, and Potapova takes on No.2 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova. Elsewhere, No.3 seed Donna Vekic raced past wild card Dayana Yastremska 6-1, 6-1, and will face Clara Burel, who reached the first WTA 500 quarterfinal of her career with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 win over Katerina Siniakova.

No.4 seed Elise Mertens, Ostapenko's conqueror in the Australian Open doubles final, eased into the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-3 defeat of Lucia Bronzetti.