Magda Linette leans on Chennai memories after 7-6(5), 6-0 win to reach Chennai Open quarters

Magda Linette defeated Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima 7-6(5), 6-0 in Chennai to advance to the quarterfinals of the Chennai Open on Thursday. The 34-year-old said returning to the city’s favourable memories has helped her begin to recover form.

Linette, 34, was runner-up at the WTA Chennai Open in 2022 and went on to reach her maiden Australian Open semifinals in January 2023; she returned to the city amid a testing season. “I feel like I had a little bit worse time recently. And now I started getting my groove back (here), which is great. So yeah, definitely, it helps…brings back good memories,” said Linette after the victory.

The Polish player has endured seven first-round exits in the past five months but produced a straight-sets win in Chennai, closing out the match with a 6-0 second set after a tiebreak in the opener. The scoreline moved her into the last eight of the tournament on Thursday.

Discussing the recent downturn, Linette offered a candid assessment of the factors she believes contributed to her slide: “I think it was a combination of things. A couple of (tough) draws, and then you lose a bit of your self-confidence and then you lose from edge points. And then just like that something spirals down.

“It was important to keep working. Basically, you try your best not to panic and not find any excuses, which is not easy because you get a lot of criticism. And, it’s also not easy to go out there and try to work on things and fail and fail again. But I decided this year to go through with it. The ups and downs are necessary in sports,” said Linette.

She has received support from former player Agnieszka Radwanska, who works with Linette as a consultant for 10-12 weeks a year. That support has accompanied Linette through the recent difficult results and her ongoing efforts to regain consistency.

Her confidence has slowly returned following the Chennai victory, and the tournament presents an immediate opportunity to build momentum.

Linette will face Mai Hontama in the Chennai Open quarterfinal on Friday, a match that could help script the start of her comeback.