Semifinals Preview: @CharlestonOpen

Posted by Admin on April 8, 2023
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The rain could be the biggest challenge for the singles semifinalists at the Charleston Open on Daniel Island, South Carolina today. Long delays do different things to different players and the conditions could indeed affect the outcomes of these seminal semis.

According to the WTA, Jessica Pegula has never taken a set from defending champion Belinda Bencic, and the American is 0-2 against top 20 players on clay in her career. Meanwhile, Bencic is 3-0 against Pegula (including the Tokyo Olympics) and is on the cusp of becoming the first back-to-back titleholder in Charleston since Serena Williams dominated in 2012-2013.

So why, oh why, is Pegula a favorite in this match with Vegas at -132? The pair have both played seven sets of tennis to get here, with both facing their toughest challenges in the Round of 16, where Pegula stunned Begu and Bencic overcame Rogers. Bencic should not be an underdog of any kind, no matter how slight, over the top seed. The edge is even here, but Bencic is a better bet due to the odds.

The Jabeur-Kasatkina is a slightly different story with Jabeur as a clear favorite to win today (-180). Jabeur hasn’t dropped a set in Chucktown, and in fact, hasn’t even played 6 sets of tennis since Anna Kalinskaya retired at 4-1 in the second set of her quarterfinal match. Kasatkina destroyed Madison Brengle in the second round, before winning very competitive matches against the very competitive Bernarda Pera and Vika Azarenka.

2 seed Jabeur is still looking for her first top 10 win of the season but has taken four in a row from world #8 Kasatkina, and I expect a three set thriller in this one with a slight edge to the Tunisian to play in the final for a second straight year. Kasatkina is still a decent bet at +150, because she will have more than a chance to win.

It’s the first time that a WTA 500 tournament has had all four top seeds in the semifinals in eleven years. That should offer spectators very intriguing matches today, tonight or whenever the rain abates. It’s 57 and drizzly now. Be patient and buckle up.

–S. Fogleman and T. Callaio

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Top Four Seeds Advance to @CharlestonOpen Quarterfinals

Posted by Admin on April 7, 2023
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As temperatures began to heat up at the Credit One Charleston Open on Daniel Island, round of 16 action started the day yesterday with No. 6 seed Victoria Azarenka facing Anna Kalinskaya on Althea Gibson Club Court. Kalinskaya walked away with a two-set victory 6-4, 7-6(5), placing her in the quarterfinals. She will face the No. 2 seed, Ons Jabeur.

Kalinskaya, 11-years Azarenka’s junior, met for the first time in their careers. The youngster was able to best Azarenka in a two-hour tight match.

No. 12 seed Paula Badosa continued her winning ways as she rolled over Diana Shnaider, 6-1, 6-3, in an 82-minute match on Credit One Stadium court to open up Thursday’s round of 16 play at the Credit One Charleston Open.

Badosa had 5 aces on the day winning 83% of her first serve points breaking Shnaider four-times during the match.

Badosa will face No. 1 seed American Jessica Pegula.

No. 2 seed Ons Jabeur bested American Caroline Dolehide 6-3, 7-5 in their first-ever meeting on Thursday afternoon. 

In the first set, Jabeur broke out to a 4-1 lead before closing out the first set 6-3. The second set was level until the 11-game before Jabeur broke Dolehide to go up 6-5. She closed out the second set and match holding serve at 7-5.

Jabeur will now face Anna Kalinskaya the quarter final. 

After taking the first set 7-5 against Irina Begu, it looked like No. 1 seed Jessica Pegula was lining herself up for a straight set win before the wheels came off after being up 4-0 in the second set.

Begu began to charge back while Pegula’s game went away losing 10-game in a row and the second set 6-4.

Credit One Stadium was watching an upset in the making when Pegula dug in after being down 0-4 in the third set to the 15th seed.

Pegula tied up the match at 4-4, then broke Begu at love before serving out the match 6-4 taking the last eight games in the final set.

Pegula will face No. 12 seed Paula Badosa in a quarterfinal match.

There was no joy in Shelbyville last night as 4 seed Belinda Bencic ended the run of hometown prodigy Shelby Rogers, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.

That’s right, all four seeds made the quarterfinals. What kind of WTA alternate reality are we living in here? That’s the first time that’s happened in Charleston in seventeen years. Seven of the remaining players in the quarters are seeded.

Also of note is that three players in the elite eight fly under the blank white flag of nowhere in particular. And despite all of the talk about Pegula and Jabeur, it seems that the likes of Kalinskaya, Alexandrova and Kasatkina are the lurkers and each of them could win the title here.

—T. Callaio and S. Fogleman

Seeds Advance at @CharlestonOpen Wednesday

Posted by Admin on April 6, 2023
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Wednesday brought big names in big matches to the Charleston Open on Daniel Island, South Carolina as the top four seeds advanced to the round of 16, something slightly rare on the WTA tour.

First up was Jessica Pegula. She arrived late in Charleston, but made up for lost time as she raced past Anna Blinkova, 6-2, 6-0. You could say that as soon as you blinked, it was “ova”.

Pegula played her first match of the year on clay courts and needed just 64 minutes to advance to the third round. The American broke Blinkova twice in the first set, taking it 6-2. 

In an uncontested second set, Blinkova only managed to serve 33% on her first serve and 21% on her second serve.

Top seed Pegula plays Irina Begu today. Begu, the 15 seed, dismissed Sofia Kenin in straights yesterday, 6-1, 6-4.

Two seed Ons Jabeur managed Lesia Tsurenko, 6-3, 6-3, to advance to the R16 and face a matchup with wild card surprise Caroline Dolehide.

3 seed Daria Kasatkina also dominated her opponent yesterday, Madison Brengle, 6-2, 6-1, to set up a match against Bernarda Pera.

Canadian Kathrine Sebov displayed high quality effort this week in Charleston. Yesterday, she was no match for 4 seed and defending champion Belinda Bencic as Bencic cruised, 6-0, 6-2. Bencic moves on to Shelbyville.

And in calling it Shelbyville, I mean the Shelby Seed. The native South Carolinian, with her hometown crowd and familiar conditions always means she’s outperforming on the Charleston green clay. Her desire to win this particular title makes her a de facto seed regardless of current ranking on the tour. She launched a comeback bid after losing the first set to Caty McNally, 7-6(4). Never wanting to go down in her own house, Rogers persevered and found ways to win in a 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-1 victory. Should Bencic be upset by Rogers tonight, Shelbyville would go wild.

12 seed Paula Badosa was slow getting out of the gate in her match with Lelyah Ferdandez, going down a break in the first set before clawing her way back to take the first set 7-5. The second set was close between the two battling the heat and each other on center court.

It ended in a tie-break with Badosa coming out on top 8-6 completing the victory 7-5, 7-6(6). Badosa now owns a 3-0 head-to-head match lead and faces Diana Shnaider next.

And not to be overlooked is the legendary Vika Azarenka. The 33-year-old grand slam champion completed her own impressive comeback against Sloane Stephens on Wednesday, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. She is the most dangerous lurker in the field and should be able to handle Anna Kalinskaya in the round of 16.

—S. Fogleman, T. Callaio

Victors Advance to Round of 32 at @CharlestonOpen

Posted by Admin on April 4, 2023
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Daniel Island, S.C.—After rain forced last night’s prime-time sessions off the court, there was a lot of playing to do at the Credit One Charleston Open in Charleston today. Sofia Kenin and Aliaksandra Sasnovich resumed their aborted match,with Kenin holding a 3-0 third set lead. She quickly capitalized on the lead and made short work of Sasnovich on Stadium court, 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-1. 15 seed Irina Begu awaits Kenin in the next match.

Leylah Fernandez was a force to be reckoned with today on Althea Gibson court and dominated her first round match against Evgeniya Rodina, 6-3, 6-2 in 74 minutes. She’ll face Paula Badosa in round 2, who earlier defeated Mayer Sharif on Stadium court, 6-3, 6-1. Badosa noted that she had a little extra time since being bounced early at the Miami Open. “I had a lot of days from Miami to come here to practice,” Badosa said, half-jokingly. “I really worked very hard. I’m playing well, I think.”

Caty McNally was another straight sets winner today. She enjoyed the pro-American crowd and cruised to a 6-4, 6-1 win over Julie Niemeier of Germany. She’ll meet up with hometown favorite Shelby Rogers on Thursday. Rogers overcame Danielle Collins in three sets, 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-1. No one beats Shelby in the first round on Stadium court in Charleston.

There might be no one as cool and calm in Charleston as Hailey Baptiste right now. The qualifying alternate leaped head first into the final 32 here with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Xiyu Wang on Court 3. Baptiste draws Madison Keys in the second round as Keys was a winner against Emma
Navarro, 6-4, 6-3.

Varvara Gracheva eased past Anna Lena Friedsam of Germany today in the first set before taking full control of the match in the second set, 7-6(3), 6-2. Gracheva is always a dangerous threat in the draw and I will pick her to upset Magda Linette in the second round.

Charleston fans were treated to the return of Sabine Lisicki over the weekend in qualifying. Today, her 2023 run ended at the hands of American Caroline Dolehide. Before the rain, the match was scheduled to be played on a packed Stadium court last night, which might have been an advantage for the former Wimbledon finalist. Instead, it was played on a sparsely attended outer court in the middle of the day, a locale that Dolehide knows all too well. Lisicki never found her rhythm, finding herself in early holes in each set. She rallied in each but fell short in both sets and exited the tournament with a 6-4, 6-4 loss to the American. Dolehide will play 17-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova next.

Upsets Abound at Early @CharlestonOpen First Round #CharlestonOpen

Posted by Admin on April 3, 2023
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Sebov

Daniel Island, S.C.–Main draw play began this morning under cloudy skies at the Credit One Charleston Open on Daniel Island in South Carolina. A breakout Canadian, an American birthday girl, a Czech teen and a Charleston Open debutante started the action with four upsets.

On Althea Gibson court, world #92 Madison Brengle celebrated her 32nd birthday as she went on to victory over Kaia Kanepi, 6-3, 6-4. The fans serenaded her with “Happy Birthday” as she left the court after the win.

On Stadium court, 17-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova persevered in three sets to oust world #60 Jill Teichmann, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.

Fruhvirtova

Next up was #89 Julia Grabher. The 26-year-old Austrian had never played at Charleston until today and she did so in winning fashion with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 effort against #28 Shuai Zhang.

Grabher

On Stadium court, another upset was in the making. This one wasn’t unexpected to anyone who has watched Canadian Katherine Sebov play this weekend or this year. The world #149 qualified in Miami two weeks ago and won her first round match. In Charleston, she’s done the same. With two wins to propel her to the main draw, Sebov played with determination over the weekend to gain entry to Charleston. Despite losing the first set narrowly today, she played through the Stadium court jitters and the pro-American crowd to outlast #57 Lauren Davis, 4-6, 6-1,6-2.

Tsurenko

Lesia Tsurenko was too much for Paula Ormaechea today, and Tsurenko prevailed, 6-1, 6-1. Ons Jabeur will meet the Ukrainian in round 2.

Blinkova

Anna Blinkova set up a match with the tournament’s top seed, Jessica Pegula, with a 7-6(7), 6-2 win against Anna Bondar.

Qualifying Concludes at @CharlestonOpen

Posted by Admin on April 3, 2023
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Daniel Island, S.C.–Alternate Hailey Baptiste qualified for the main draw of the Charleston Open yesterday after winning back-to-back matches in 24 hours. Baptiste was placed in the qualifying field on Saturday morning after Taylor Townsend withdrew from the Charleston tournament to pursue a doubles title in Miami.

Paula Ormaechea is a familiar face in Charleston qualifying and the fans admire her verbal expressiveness. They witnessed peak Paula on Sunday, as the Argentinian needed three sets to eke out a win over the talented Magdalena Frech. Her reward for the weekend slog is a first round matchup against Lesia Tsurenko, a 6-1 favorite to win today.

Sabine Lisicki, after a commanding win on Saturday, found things more dramatic and unsteady in the qualifying final. After taking a 5-2 lead over Katarzyna Kawa, she lost the first set, 6-7(1) and looked out of sorts, plaintively looking at her parents in the stands. She recovered in time to win the second tie break, 7-6(1) before pulling away in the third set, 6-3, to qualify for the main draw for a first rounder against American Caroline Dolehide.

Qualifiers Kayla Day and Sachia Vickery both won yesterday and will face each other today. Louisa Chirico was yesterday’s first qualifier, running over Elvina Kalieva, 6-4, 6-1. She opens up her main draw campaign against Sloane Stephens. Katherine Sebov continued her red-hot 2023 campaign by beating Francesca Di Lorenzo, 6-4, 6-2, and will play Lauren Davis today on Stadium court.

There are always a few upsets in the first round of any tournament. Today, I like underdogs Linda Fruhvirtova (+160) besting Jill Teichmann, and Sebov (+155) surprising Lauren Davis. I’m also going to go out on a limb and predict Sasnovich (+145) upsets Kenin. At +582, it’s hard to predict Ormaechea over Tsurenko, but if she has anything left in the tank today, an Ormaechea win wouldn’t be as shocking as the odds suggest. Sports gambling is illegal in South Carolina, so please keep it down over there.

One More Win to the Main Draw: @CharlestonOpen Saturday Results

Posted by Admin on April 1, 2023
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Daniel Island, SC—Under breezy conditions, eight qualifiers prevailed today to advance to a final tomorrow at the Credit One Charleston Open in Daniel Island, SC. It was so gusty that Argentina’s Paula Ormaechaea aborted her serve 8 times in one game alone.

The only one who had it worse than the ball toss today was Coco Vandeweghe. The former top ten player and highest seeded American in qualifying looked listless as she was routined by the 19-year-old Elvina Kalieva, 6-2, 6-1. Kalieva is a fellow American and will face Louisa Chirico next. Chirico defeated fellow American Sophie Chang, 7-6(5), 6-3. Speaking of straight sets, the first six matches were two and outs.

Canada’s Katherine Sebov had a great March in winning an ITF title in Toronto followed by her first WTA 1000 level match win in Miami. She started the month of April with a win here in Charleston today, 6-2, 6-1 over Gabriela Ce. She’ll look for a spot in the main draw when she takes the court against Francesca Di Lorenzo tomorrow.

Ohio State alum Francesca DiLorenzo pulled off the comeback of the day in outlasting French Open doubles champion Kiki Mladenovic in three, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. DiLorenzo maintained composure in the third set as Mladenovic raced back from 0-4 to nearly level the match before the Frenchwoman’s serve failed her repeatedly.

Fan favorite Sabine Lisicki raced out to a 6-1 first set before closing the second set in a tiebreak, 6-1, 7-6(5) over Yuriko Miyazaki.

The final eight qualifiers will be decided by tomorrow afternoon and will face main draw participants Lauren Davis, Caroline Dolehide, Varvara Gracheva, Xiyu Wang, Sloane Stephens, or one another, as two qualifiers will meet in the first round.

Saturday’s @CharlestonOpen Qualifying Order of Play

Posted by Admin on April 1, 2023
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Charleston–The qualifying aspirants at the Credit One Charleston Open will face windy conditions on the green clay today, as 32 players seek one of 8 spots in the main draw, which begins Monday.

Sixteen Americans are in the qualifying field and four of those matches will be All-American: Coco Vandeweghe against Elvina Kalieva, Sophie Chang vs. Louisa Chirico, Robin Montgomery taking on Ashlyn Krueger and finally, Asia Muhammad against Eliza Mandlik. No American qualifier is ranked higher than a 7 seed (Vandeweghe) because if they had, they probably would have a main draw wild card by now.

Althea Gibson Court 10:00 a.m.

Vandeweghe vs. Kalieva

Chang vs. Chirico

Lisicki vs. Miyazaki

Mateas v. Watson

Court 3 10:00 a.m.

Loeb vs. Ormaechea

Montgomery vs. Krueger

Korpatsch (1) vs. Li

Muhammad vs. Mandlik

Court 4 10:00 a.m.

Frech vs. Glushko

Mladenovic vs. Di Lorenzo

Lee vs. Day

Townsend vs. Zacarias (UPDATE: Townsend W/D, Baptiste in)

Court 5 10:00 a.m.

Ce vs. Sebov

Siegemund vs. Vickery

Golubic vs. Kawa

Friedsam vs. Hovde

Ukraine’s @ElinaSvitolina Returns to Pro Tennis in @CharlestonOpen Main Draw

Posted by Admin on March 17, 2023
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Former top-10 player returns to Tour after motherhood; to host ‘Tennis Plays for Peace’ Pro-Am benefitting Ukraine 

CHARLESTON, S.C. – More than a year since her last tennis match in Miami, Elina Svitolina will return to the Hologic WTA Tour at the 2023 Credit One Charleston Open. The former World No. 3 has accepted a main draw wild card into the Credit One Charleston Open, the largest women’s-only tennis tournament in North America. The tournament, which was named the 2022 WTA 500 Tournament of the Year, is the annual clay season kickoff on the Hologic WTA Tour. The Charleston Open is scheduled April 1 – 9 in the renovated and modernized Credit One Stadium on Daniel Island in Charleston, South Carolina.

The Ukrainian joins a Charleston player field featuring seven of the world’s top 15 players, five former champions and four Grand Slam champions. 

Svitolina gave birth to her first child in October and has focused much of her time and energy on bringing awareness and support to her home country amidst the war in Ukraine. In continuation of these efforts, Svitolina has partnered with the Charleston Open and WTA Charities to host a special Tennis Plays for Peace Pro-Am in April, benefitting Ukraine and the Elina Svitolina Foundation. 

The Tennis Plays for Peace initiative seeks “to bring the tennis community and fans together to support the humanitarian relief efforts for the war in Ukraine.” The tournament, in conjunction with WTA Charities, hosted a Pro-Am in 2022, raising $100,000 in donations for relief efforts in Ukraine.

“Increasing awareness and raising funds for Ukraine is very important to us as a tournament and to our players,” said Bob Moran, Tournament Director of the Credit One Charleston Open and President of Charleston Tennis LLC. “We are passionate about working with Elina, who has a deep and personal understanding of the needs in her home country right now, to further exemplify the mission of Tennis Plays for Peace and stand united with Ukraine.” 

Svitolina is Ukraine’s most accomplished women’s tennis player. Her tennis career includes 16 WTA titles and she has advanced to the quarterfinal round or better at least once, in all four Grand Slams. In 2019, she appeared in both the Wimbledon and US Open semifinals. 

The 2023 Credit One Charleston Open will be her second time in the field, reaching the third round in 2014. 

The nine-day Credit One Charleston Open showcases a singles draw of 56 players, a qualifying draw of 32 players and a doubles draw of 16 players. The event traditionally hosts more than 90,000 attendees on Daniel Island.

Charleston Tennis, LLC, which manages Credit One Stadium under a lease from the City of Charleston, recently renovated and modernized the 20-year-old facility. The city-owned venue underwent upgrades to enhance the stadium experience for patrons, performers, tennis players and event management, allowing the venue to attract world-class athletes and talent to Daniel Island.

The Credit One Charleston Open celebrated its 50th year in 2022. The tournament has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports since 1973, paving the path for female tennis players to receive equal recognition, respect and pay in the sport. Originally held on Hilton Head Island, the event moved to Charleston in 2001 and is played on Daniel Island at the LTP Daniel Island tennis center, home to the Credit One Stadium.

Tickets for the 2023 tournament can be purchased online at creditonecharlestonopen.com or by calling (843) 856-7900. When purchasing tickets for the 2023 Credit One Charleston Open, patrons can choose from single session tickets ($25+) from Saturday, April 1 – Sunday, April 9. All tournament packages have officially sold out for the 2023 tournament, inclusive of all 100 and 200 level packages. 

For additional information, please email tickets@charlestontennisllc.com. For more information on the Credit One Charleston Open, visit creditonecharlestonopen.com or call 843-856-7900.

—A. Alpino

Newest Grand Slam Champion Headed to @CreditOneBank @CharlestonOpen

Posted by Admin on February 21, 2023
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(Photos: Mike Renz for Tennis Atlantic)

2023 AUSTRALIAN OPEN CHAMPION ENTERS CHARLESTON PLAYER FIELD

World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka joins the Credit One Charleston Open field, now featuring five of the world’s top 10 players 

CHARLESTON, S.C. – 2023 Australian Open champion and World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka has committed to compete in the Credit One Charleston Open, the largest women’s-only tennis tournament in North America. The tournament, which was recently named the WTA 500 Tournament of the Year, is the annual clay season kickoff event on the WTA Hologic Tour. The Charleston Open is set to return to the renovated and modernized Credit One Stadium on Daniel Island in Charleston, South Carolina, April 1 – 9. With the addition of World No. 2 Sabalenka, the tournament’s player field now showcases five of the world’s top 10 players, including World No. 3 Jessica Pegula, World No. 4 Ons Jabeur, World No. 8 Daria Kasatkina and World No. 9 Belinda Bencic.

Sabalenka’s 2023 season has been exceptional thus far. She began the year by winning the Adelaide International 1 and then captured her maiden Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open. 

Aryna Sabalenka, 2019 Western & Southern Open Photo:

“Aryna’s addition to our player field reinforces an already incredible line-up for April,” said Bob Moran, Tournament Director of the Credit One Charleston Open and President of Charleston Tennis LLC. “She plays consistently strong tennis and is at the top of her game, recently adding Grand Slam champion to her already impressive resume. With a deep player field and a schedule filled with off-court activities, our ticket sales have been going extremely well and we have officially sold out of all tournament ticket packages. We encourage our tennis attendees to purchase their single session tickets in advance for this year’s tournament.” 

The 24-year-old has been a mainstay in the WTA’s top 10 rankings since 2019. Her powerful game has propelled her to 12 career WTA singles titles and six WTA doubles titles, including the 2021 Australian Open and 2019 US Open. Her 2022 season included nine quarterfinal or better appearances, with finals in Stuttgart and ‘s-Hertogenbosch and semifinals in Rome, Cincinnati and New York at the US Open. She was also the runner-up at the WTA Finals in Fort Worth.

“I am really looking forward to competing in Charleston again this spring,” said Sabalenka. “I love visiting the city and the fans at the tournament are always so welcoming and fun. I had a great time last year and I’m excited to be back in April to hopefully win this time!”

The 2023 Credit One Charleston Open will be Sabalenka’s third tournament appearance where she holds a 2-2 win/loss record.