The third time proved the charm for Ekaterina Alexandrova on Sunday at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz.

After two runner-up finishes at the tournament in the previous six years, the No. 4 seed finally was crowned winner after battling to a 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 win over No. 5 seed Dayana Yastremska in a final that lasted 2 hours and 11 minutes. 

Linz: Scores | Draws | Order of play

Alexandrova's victory was never assured, despite the higher seed having built a 6-2, 3-0 lead in the first hour-plus. She lost nine straight games from that point on, as the Ukrainian not only won the second set, but built a 3-0 lead in the decider. But a thrilling final finish was on the cards, and Alexandrova's resilience eventually pushed her to a comeback of her own to capture her first WTA 500 title.

Three straight games for Alexandrova leveled the final set, and she later broke Yastresmska's serve from 40-0 at 5-5 before, at long last, taking the winner's trophy in a titanic final service game on her fifth match point.

"This tournament was always special for me -- I really love playing here every time -- and now, finally, I can make it to the end at the third time," Alexandrova said in her victory speech. "I'm super pleased and happy, and this place is going to be special and magical for me all the time."

Previously, Alexandrova had finished as runner-up to Camila Giorgi in 2018 and to Jelena Ostapenko last year -- winning just nine games combined in four sets in those two finals. She is now 5-4 in her career in Hologic WTA Tour singles finals.

More to come...