In pictures: The story of Ostrava 2020
From comebacks for Victoria Azarenka and Aryna Sabalenka to upsets by Veronika Kudermetova and Maria Sakkari, all the best photos from the J&T Banka Ostrava Open 2020.
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Fifth qualifying seed Anna Blinkova was among the first tranche of winners at the inaugural J&T Banka Ostrava Open, edging past Tamara Zidansek in two tight sets.
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Seventh seed Paula Badosa, fresh off her debut Grand Slam second-week showing at Roland Garros, kicked off her qualifying campaign with a straight-sets defeat of Sorana Cirstea.
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A first-round qualifying clash between two 2020 WTA finalists saw Lexington runner-up Jil Teichmann hold off Lyon runner-up Anna-Lena Friedsam in straight sets.
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Ninth qualifying seed Sara Sorribes Tormo overcame Ana Bogdan in her first qualifying tilt, then progressed to the main draw after Anna Blinkova retired due to a right finger contusion while leading 6-4, 2-5.
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Wildcard Bethanie Mattek-Sands took on tenth qualifying seed Daria Kasatkina in a clash of former Top 30 players.
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Former World No.10 Kasatkina swung past Mattek-Sands 6-4, 6-2 to open her qualifying campaign.
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Twelfth seed Barbora Krejcikova, fresh off a run to the Roland Garros fourth round, dropped just three games to Kaja Juvan in her first qualifying match.
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Show your bones: The weekend before the main draw also saw several Top 20 players take to the courts to practise, including World No.12 Aryna Sabalenka, who donned a striking skeleton outfit.
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Australian Open quarterfinalist Ons Jabeur and US Open runner-up Victoria Azarenka, who played a terrific quarterfinal match in Cincinnati in August, practised together.
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The jump off: 16-year-old Coco Gauff launches herself upwards while preparing for her first qualifying match.
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On court, Gauff needed just 52 minutes to dispatch wildcard and former World No.50 Jana Cepelova in the first round of qualifying.
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Second qualifying seed Marie Bouzkova closed out the first Saturday's play with a straight-sets defeat of Katarina Zavatska.
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Wildcard Tereza Martincova had won the longest match of the first qualifying round, a two-hour, 47-minute upset of No.6 seed Bernarda Pera, but needed just 62 minutes to defeat Paula Badosa 6-3, 6-2 and reach the main draw.
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A second Czech qualifier followed swiftly, with Barbora Krejcikova joining Martincova in the main draw with an identical 6-3, 6-2 scoreline over Jil Teichmann.
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Third qualifying seed Coco Gauff also successfully navigated the preliminary rounds with a 6-4, 6-4 win over eleventh seed Irina-Camelia Begu.
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Top seed Veronika Kudermetova came through qualifying with a pair of wins over Stefanie Voegele and Arantxa Rus, with the Russian winning a tight first set and pulling away in the second both times.
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A popcorn final qualifying round clash saw Marie Bouzkova save two match points serving at 4-5 in the second set against Daria Kasatkina before taking the match to a decider.
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However, Kasatkina held firm to resist the Bouzkova comeback, sealing her main draw spot 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 in two hours and 39 minutes.
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The main draw kicked off with Ekaterina Alexandrova taking on No.8 seed Anett Kontaveit. The Russian, who had won 33 of her past 39 matches indoors, advanced to a 5-2 third-set lead and served for victory three times.
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However, Australian Open quarterfinalist Kontaveit pulled off a spectacular comeback, saving double match point in the deciding tiebreak to overhaul Alexandrova 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(6).
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Qualifier Sara Sorribes Tormo dropped just four games against Magda Linette - and garnered Shot of the Day honors with some superb hustling - to seal just the second indoor WTA main draw win of her career.
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Wildcard Kristyna Pliskova, who had reached the semifinals in Prague in August, sought to resume her fine home form against Maria Sakkari.
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However, St Petersburg semifinalist Sakkari successfully blunted the older Pliskova twin's power, breaking twice in each set to win their first round 6-3, 6-3.
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The final match of the first day of main draw action was a clash of Czech qualifiers, with Tereza Martincova taking on Barbora Krejcikova.
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Krejcikova had lost her previous two meetings with Martincova - both in 2016, and also indoors - but the former doubles World No.1 took a 7-5, 6-1 revenge to move into the second round.
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Donna Vekic kicked off her Ostrava campaign with a first round clash against Russian qualifier Veronika Kudermetova.
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Kudermetova claimed a confident 6-2, 6-4 victory over Vekic to book her spot in the second round, where she’ll face No.2 seed Karolina Pliskova.
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No.6 seed Elena Rybakina reached four finals in her first six events of the season, and was up against qualifier Daria Kasatkina in her opening match.
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Former World No.10 Kasatkina triumphed in three sets, before showing off her FC Barcelona face mask at her post-match press conference.
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Karolina Muchova reached the fourth round at the US Open, her best hardcourt Grand Slam result after last year’s Wimbledon quarterfinal run.
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She continued the momentum against Zhang Shuai in her Ostrava opener, fighting through 6-1, 6-1.
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French Open doubles semifinalist Katerina Siniakova was up against American qualifier Coco Gauff in the first round.
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Gauff earned a hard-fought 7-5, 6-4 victory to book a second-round clash with No.3 seed Aryna Sabalenka.
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Wildcard Jelena Ostapenko claimed a decisive upset over No.5 seed Petra Martic, 6-3, 6-1, to book her spot in the second round.
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No.7 seed Elise Mertens defeated 19-year-old American Amanda Anisimova 6-2, 6-3 to start her Ostrava run.
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Since the season’s restart, Mertens has reached a final in Prague, semifinals at the Western & Southern Open and back-to-back quarterfinals at the US Open and in Rome.
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US Open finalist Victoria Azarenka roared to victory after coming back from a set down against qualifier Krejcikova, winning 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 to reach the quarterfinals.
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No.8 seed Anett Kontaveit fell in the second round to Sara Sorribes Tormo, 6-1, 6-4.
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The win puts the 24-year-old Spaniard into her career-first Premier quarterfinal.
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Top seed Elina Svitolina took the court in Ostrava after a bye, facing Maria Sakkari in the second round.
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Sakkari stunned Svitolina in two sets, 6-3, 6-3, claiming her fourth career Top 5 victory.
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Ons Jabeur opened Thursday's play with a straight-sets defeat of Jelena Ostapenko to reach her fifth quarterfinal of the year, and the proud Sousse native showed off her Étoile Sportive du Sahel mask afterwards.
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Aiming for her second quarterfinal of 2020, Coco Gauff sought to repeat her Lexington upset of Aryna Sabalenka as she took a dominant 6-1 first-set lead over the third seed.
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However, Sabalenka held off Gauff to take the second set, then roared back from a double break down in the decider to pull out a dramatic 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(2) revenge over the teenager.
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Karolina Muchova was the first home player to take to the court on Thursday, bidding for her first quarterfinal of the year against Elise Mertens.
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However, Mertens successfully passed the Muchova test to notch up her 30th match win of 2020, and seventh quarterfinal spot - including five in six post-shutdown tournaments.
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Seven Czechs had started in the Ostrava main draw, but second seed Karolina Pliskova was the last remaining hope to reach the last eight midway through Thursday as she took on Veronika Kudermetova.
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Qualifier Kudermetova came from a set down to stun Pliskova 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, though - her second victory over the Czech in the past two months, having also defeated Pliskova at the same stage of Cincinnati, and a third Top 5 win.
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Jennifer Brady completed the quarterfinal lineup, coming from 2-5 down in the first set to beat Daria Kasatkina, before ending Veronika Kudermetova's run to reach the seminfinals.
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Aryna Sabalenka stormed back after losing the first 10 games to beat Sara Sorribes Tormo and book her spot in the last four.
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Victoria Azarenka continued her excellent form this season to make the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-1 win against Elise Mertens in one hour and 30 minutes.
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Maria Sakkari fought back from a set and a break against Ons Jabeur to reach her second semifinal of the season.
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Maria Sakkari and Victoria Azarenka took to the court for their first-ever meeting to open Semifinal Saturday in Ostrava.
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It was Azarenka who swept to victory over Sakkari, claiming the first five games of the match en route to a 6-1, 6-3 win, and reaching a milestone 40th WTA singles final of her career.
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The second semifinal featured the first meeting between Aryna Sabalenka and Jennifer Brady, and Sabalenka won their tilt 6-4, 6-4, setting up the first-ever all-Belarusian WTA singles final.
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Sabalenka followed with a win in the doubles semifinals alongside her regular partner Elise Mertens. Top-seeded Mertens and Sabalenka set up a Sunday final showdown against Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani.
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Sabalenka began the historic all-Belarusian final on fire, eager to avenge her US Open defeat to Azarenka last month.
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As Sabalenka ascended, Azarenka showed signs of physical distress, requiring a medical timeout early in the second set.
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In the end, Sabalenka secured the win with an emphatic ace, nabbing her seventh career title and second of 2020.
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The win in Ostrava was Sabalenka's first on European soil, and her day wasn't over yet - she and Elise Mertens had a doubles final to play.
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Sabalenka's Ostrava sweep ended with another straight set win with Mertens over Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani.
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