Magda Linette did not stop the bad streak of the Polish representatives in Indian Wells. The Pole, despite winning the first set, lost to Taylor Townsend and said goodbye to the tournament.
Thursday in California did not start well for the Polish representatives. First, Hubert Hurkacz lost the doubles match, and then Magdalena Fręch finished her participation in the women’s competition. The rival of the tennis player born in Poznań was Taylor Townsend. The hosts’ representative reached the main draw of the tournament thanks to qualifications. So far, the ladies have met only once and it was in Indian Wells in 2017. Then Linette turned out to be better in two sets.
The biggest difficulty for the Polish representative at the beginning of the match was adapting to the conditions on the court. The game was made difficult by high temperature and strong wind. Townsend took advantage of this by sending the ball much harder. The American performed well in short actions, which she often ended with winning shots. The hosts’ representative took the initiative in Linette’s second service game, thanks to which she broke. The weakest link in Townsend’s game was his passing. The tennis player born in Chicago made a lot of unforced errors. The Polish representative quickly made up for the losses.
With each passing minute, Linette dominated more and more over her rival. The player from across the Atlantic Ocean had problems with placing the ball in the court. Due to her opponent’s mistakes, the Pole gained an advantage of two breaks. However, the Poznanian’s game was not without flaws. This is evidenced by the seventh game, after which the Pole lost her serve. Townsend reduced the gap, but after another weak service game from the American, Linette broke again. Then our country’s third racket had to defend subsequent break points. This time, however, Magda got out of trouble and, after playing to an advantage, she used the first set ball.
The first game turned out to be a real break point festival. The returning players also had more to say at the beginning of the second part of the match. The ladies exchanged a break. Townsend, however, was beginning to find it increasingly difficult to cope with the longer exchanges that Linette was aiming for. The Pole’s hard work in defense paid off. The tennis player, ranked 54th in the WTA ranking, maintained her 100% effectiveness on break points and once again took away her opponent’s serve. The American responded quickly, showing off great returns. Townsend played very solidly at the end of the game. At 6:5 and Linette’s serve to lead to the tie-break, the hosts’ representative even scored two set points. However, the Pole defended both break points and it went to overtime. From the very beginning, the American impressed with her returns and gained a safe advantage. Townsend did not allow her opponent to reverse the tie-break. After using the fourth set ball, she led to the decisive game.
Linette had to struggle with problems from the beginning of the set. Already in the first game, the Pole defended two break points. Townsend won service games much easier. The American broke at the next opportunity, and although Magda had to make up for the loss of almost the entire set, her situation seemed to be getting worse. After the Polish woman’s next service game, the road to turning around the match was even longer, because Townsend again took her serve away. Ultimately, unfortunately, it turned out that the opening game was the only one won by Linette in the game. The Poznań player couldn’t find a good game during her own service games, and when the hosts’ representative served, she couldn’t score more than two points. This made the deciding set a one-sided result.
In the second round, the American’s opponent will be Anna Kalinskaja.
Results
First round:
Taylor Townsend (USA, Q) – Magda Linette (Poland) 3:6, 7:6(3), 6:1