Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova defeated Germany’s Anna-Lena Friedsam 6-4, 6-3, to win the WTA Generali Ladies Open in Linz.
Despite having heavy strapping on her leg, the Russian seventh seed got off to a strong start by breaking Friedsam in the first game of the match. The break at the start of the match was pivotal to its outcome as Friedsam was unable to break Pavlyuchenkova throughout the first set.
The Russian was experiencing discomfort throughout the match which required a medical time out. At the start of the match she had tape on her left leg, but during the time out the doctor also tapped her right leg she she kept on playing despite the pain.
Friedsam, who was playing in her first WTA final, got off to a strong start in the second set as she broke her Russian rival for the first time to move ahead 2-0. The lead was however short lived as Pavlyuchenkova clawed her way back immediately to level the set at 2-2 before breaking to edge ahead once again. Despite having a strong hold on the match, the world No.29 was forced to save two break points in the seventh game before easing her way to her 8th WTA title.
During the match Pavlyuchenkova produced 5 aces, won 74% of her service points and successfully converted 4/8 break points. Throughout the tournament the Russian dropped just one set which in her semi-final clash against Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium.
Pavlyuchenkova will now travel to Moscow where she will be bidding to defend her title at the Kremlin Cup. She will be seeded sixth in the tournament.
