Gracheva rallis from third-set deficit, punches ticket into Sunday's ATX Open final
In a semifinal match dominated by service breaks, Varvara Gracheva regained control of her serve at the perfect time.
Gracheva produced back-to-back service holds after falling behind 4-2 in the final set to rally past Katie Volynets and advance to Sunday’s ATX Open singles championship. Gracheva won 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in a match that lasted 2 hours, 24 minutes to the delight of a packed stadium court at Westwood Country Club.
“I knew that if I lose the serve (at 4-2), I would barely have a chance to come back because she was pressing me a lot,” said Gracheva, a 22-year old from Russia. “She played a really amazing match. I had gone a lot into emotion. If I had stayed there, Katie has such a beautiful game, and when you are down mentally, it is impossible.”
Trailing 4-3, Gracheva took advantage of a timely net cord to earn and then convert a break point to level the set.
“Sometimes one point can turn things around,” Volynets said. “Suddenly it was 30-40. That was a crucial point and it didn’t go my way. I don’t think that’s why I lost the match. I think she was doing great things. But it is mentally difficult when something like that happens in such a close moment.”
Following the crucial break, Gracheva easily held serve to take a 5-4 lead and then closed out the match by breaking Volynets for a ninth time over the three sets.
“I hit some good serves and played some good holding points,” Gracheva said. “I tried not to think too much and I was able to find some stability.”
Stability for the servers, at least in the first two sets, proved hard to come by. Gracheva broke Volynets four times in the first set, and Volynets broke Gracheva four times to win the second set. The pair combined for 17 service breaks in the 32 games played, a 47% hold rate.
Heading into the match, tournament statistics showed that three of the four semifinalists — Gracheva included — had won at least 71% of their service games.
“She’s a great returner and I think I’m a great returner as well, so we were both taking turns breaking each other,” Volynets said. “The pattern was that both of us started aggressively with the return and immediately push the server back (in the court). Usually people struggle with their return game so it was kind of unique for the return game to come easier than the serve games.”
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Kostyuk tops Collins to advance
Also on Saturday, eighth-seeded Marta Kostyuk topped fourth-seeded Danielle Collins 6-4, 6-3 to earn her spot in Sunday’s championship match. Like Gracheva, the final will be her first on the WTA Tour.
“Obviously it’s a special moment and I’m very emotional,” Kostyuk, a 20-year old from Ukraine, said. “I had lost four semifinals before today and I didn’t know what to expect. Danielle is a great player and a great champion and I’m very happy the match turned out this way today.”
Kostyuk took control of the opening set by breaking Collins’ serve at 3-3. She took the lead for good in the second set after the players split the first four games.
Gracheva, who has spent nearly nine hours in winning her four matches, said she feels fresh and ready to go for Sunday’s final against Kostyuk. By contrast, Kostyuk has needed almost two-and-a-half fewer hours on-court to reach the final.
“Actually, I’m fresh,” she said. “I’m doing really good. Those wins, even in the quarters against Sloane (Stephens) — it was tight and physical even though it was two sets. This is our job.”
Three of Gracheva’s wins have been three-set matches. Kostyuk has played just one three-set match.
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Top seeds reach doubles final
On Saturday, the top-seeded team of Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Ellen Perez topped Ingrid Neel and Olivia Tjandramulia 6-3, 6-2. The second seeded team of Erin Routliffe and Aldila Sutjiadi topped Anna-Lena Friedsam and Nadiia Kichenok 6-2, 6-3.
The two winning teams will meet in Sunday's final.
Bidding farewell after a big week
Volynets may not have won her semifinal match, but leaves Austin after one of her best weeks as a professional. She reached her first WTA semifinal and earned a wild card berth into next week’s BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.
The 21-year old Californian said she’s usually hard on herself after a loss, but recognized what she accomplished at the ATX Open.
“Overall, it’s been a really positive week,” Volynets said. “I reached my first semifinal and I got some great matches in. My coach and I put some great work in. It’s not easy to handle the losses, but I try to take the positives because I have such a beautiful tournament to play next week. I’m excited to play again.”
ATX Open
At Westwood Country Club (3808 W. 35th St.)
Sunday's finals: Singles, 2 p.m. — Varvara Gracheva vs. (4) Marta Kostyuk; Doubles, 4 p.m. — (1) Nicole Melichar-Martinez/Ellen Perez vs. (2) Erin Routliffe/Aldila Sutjiadi.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: ATX Open singles final will pit Varvara Gracheva against Marta Kostyuk
