Two tight tiebreaks later, Friedsam outlasts Andreeva in marathon ATX Open match
Another morning, another marathon tennis match at the ATX Open.
Anna-Lena Friedsam needed 3 hours, 11 minutes and an untimely slip from Erika Andreeva to advance to the quarterfinals Thursday with a 7-5, 6-7, 7-6 victory. She rallied from a 5-2 deficit in the final set to force a tiebreaker, then capitalized when Andreeva slipped during a point with the tiebreaker tied at 8.
Friedsam closed out the match on the next point and raised her arms in triumphant relief.
“I think that was one of the craziest matches of my career,” the 29-year old from Neuwied, Germany, said after catching her breath.
Andreeva, who only learned she had a spot in the draw early Tuesday morning after second-seeded Shuai Zhang withdrew with an illness, started quickly in the final set, winning three straight games to take a 5-2 lead, but couldn’t close it out. With her back against the wall, Friedsam regrouped and started her rally.
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Friedsam held serve to get to 5-3, then broke Andreeva after smashing a pair of backhand winners. Friedsam evened the match with an ace that delighted the fans.
“It was a very good crowd,” she said. “It’s a great atmosphere, and I’m happy I get to stay a little longer.”
Like the match, the final tiebreaker went back and forth. Both players served for the match at times. Friedsam led 6-4, only to watch Andreeva draw even at 6-6. After Friedsman earned a third match point with a big serve, Andreeva hit a perfect lob over her onrushing opponent to make it 7-7.
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Andreeva served for the match leading 8-7, but her passing shot sailed just wide. At 8-8, she suffered the slip, and Friedsam closed out the match on the next point.
“Erika is like a little ninja,” Friedsam said. “She played great, and it was so hard to break her.”
Friedsam acknowledged the lucky break that set up her final match point.
“I found my game late in the set, and then I got a little bit of luck,” she said. “I’m thankful for that.”
Friedsam won the first set after falling behind 5-4. Andreeva evened the match by dominating a tiebreaker to win the second set.
Friedsam advances to face either eighth-seeded Marta Kostyuk or Madison Brengle in the quarterfinals Friday.
Despite getting into the tournament as a lucky loser (advancing through qualifying despite not winning a spot in the draw), Andreeva played two of the longest matches of the week. Her opening-round win over Harriet Dart lasted 3 hours, 32 minutes, the longest match on the WTA tour this year. Of the 21 singles matches that have been completed, 11 went the distance and four were decided in a final-set tiebreaker.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Anna-Lena Friedsam wins marathon three-hour tennis match at ATX Open
