NEWS
After Three-Set Thriller: Early Exit for Lilli Tagger in Cincinnati!
The Austrian tennis ace has to concede defeat to Australia's Talia Gibson after a long battle.
Lilli Tagger loses her WTA debut in Cincinnati with a score of 6:4, 1:6 and 5:7.
In the first set, everything still went according to plan. At 3:3, Tagger secured the break. Her own serves were held solidly, converting the third set point to 6:4.
After that, the player from East Tyrol began to falter. The 18-year-old made more and more unforced errors, while Gibson found her rhythm better and better, hitting several winners. Despite five aces, Tagger gave up her serve twice and lost the set 1:6.
Thriller in the Decider
In the deciding set, everything initially went according to plan again. Tagger managed to break Gibson's first service game, and fended off two break points on her own serve. This put Tagger temporarily up 3:0.
Then she completely lost her rhythm again. Tagger appeared unsettled and played several balls out, while her Australian opponent perfectly hit the line multiple times. A double fault led to the East Tyrolean conceding the second break, making it 3:4. Nerves were frayed on both sides, and no one held their serve until 5:6.
Ultimately, Talia Gibson's nerves held at the right moment. She converted her second match point after 2 hours and 37 minutes, securing the 5:7 final score.
