Andreeva outlasts Cirstea in three sets; to face Ruse in Linz semifinals

Top seed Mirra Andreeva will face unseeded Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the semifinals of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz after both players earned three-set wins Friday.

Andreeva, chasing her second singles title of the year on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, faced Romanian veteran Sorana Cirstea. The teenager led the first set with an early break, but Cirstea rallied to force a tiebreak, which Andreeva won. Cirstea then surged ahead with a double break in the second set before closing it out 6-4.

Andreeva responded by breaking early in the third set. Although Cirstea pulled it back to 3-2, Andreeva won three games in a row to seal a 7-6, 4-6, 6-2 victory in 2 hours, 17 minutes.

Earlier in the day, Ruse advanced to her first career WTA 500 semifinal with a come-from-behind win over former champion Jelena Ostapenko. The fourth-seeded Latvian, who won the title in 2024 and finished runner-up in 2019, took the first set 6-4. Ruse broke early in the second set, and although Ostapenko leveled at 3-3, the Romanian regained control to take the set 6-4. Ruse carried that momentum into the decider, losing just one game to complete a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory in 2 hours, 21 minutes.

Making her Linz debut this week, Ruse will be aiming to reach her third WTA singles final. Both of her previous finals also came on clay.

Andreeva and Ruse have met once before on tour, with Andreeva winning their third-round match at this year’s Australian Open in straight sets.