For Laura Mair from Val Gardena, the home tournament is over. © Diego Runggaldier

Laura Mair's triumphal march has stopped

The ITF tournament in Ortisei, with prize money of 25.000 dollars, lost its last local hope on Thursday evening. This means that the dream semi-final will not take place.

05 December 2024

From: pm

Laura Mair, WTA number 754, had to admit defeat in the quarterfinals to Australian Tina Nadine Smith (WTA 278) with 2:6, 6:7 (5). Particularly bitter: In the second set, the 21-year-old player from TC Gherdeina missed a set point when the score was 5:4. In the tiebreak, a double fault when the score was 3:3 cost the preliminary decision and the Australian, who is one year older, then scored 1 points in a row to win.

Despite the defeat, the tournament was a success for the 21-year-old from Selva. She reached the quarterfinals in Ortisei for the first time. Victories against the Swede Lisa Zaar (WTA 578) and the Italian Sofia Rocchetti (WTA 440) gave the “Miss Forehand” valuable self-confidence for 2025.

Tina Nadine Smith will now face Silvia Ambrosio from TC Rungg (WTA 460) in the semifinals. Ambrosio earned her ticket in a dramatic marathon match against 19-year-old Federica Urgesi (WTA 530). After three intense hours, the German-Italian player won 5:7, 6:4, 6:3.

Silvia Ambrosio is in the penultimate round. © Diego Runggaldier

In the upper half of the tournament, Justina Mikulskyte (WTA 237) remains the clear favorite. The Lithuanian dominated her quarterfinal against Croatian Iva Primorac (WTA 435) with 6:4, 6:1. In the other match, Poland's Weronika Falkowska won 6:2, 7:6 (5) against Mia Ristic.

The doubles finalists have been determined

The final showdown of the top seeds in the doubles competition will take place this Friday. Weronika Falkowska and Lisa Zaar, who confidently defeated Christine and Elisabeth Junge-Ilges 6:0, 6:4 in the semifinals, will face Ekaterina Ovcharenko and Emily Webley-Smith. The number 2 seeded pair had no trouble in the semifinals against Silvia Ambrosio and Sofia Rocchetti (6:2, 6:4). This gives Lisa Zaar the chance to win the "Gröden double". After her confident victory in Selva alongside Martyna Kubka, the Swede now wants to triumph in Ortisei. The singles final will take place on Saturday at 10 a.m.

Thursday's results:

Singles, quarterfinals
[1] Justina Mikulskyte – [7] Iva Primorac 6:4 6:1
Mia Ristic – Weronika Falkowska 2:6 6:7 (5)
[WC] Laura Mair – [4] Tina Nadine Smith 2:6 6:7 (5)
Federica Urgesi – Silvia Ambrosio 7:5 4:6 3:6

Doubles, semi-finals
[1] Weronika Falkowska/Lisa Zaar – [4] Christine Junge-Ilges/Elisabeth Junge-Ilges 6:0 6:4 [3]
Silvia Ambrosio/Sofia Rocchetti – [2] Ekaterina Ovcharenko/Emily Webley-Smith 2:6 4:6