We’re down to eight at the Boar’s Head Women’s Open in Charlottesville, Virginia, the outdoor clay ITF W80 level event. This year’s field hasn’t been the strongest ever, with top seed #84 Kayla Day the only player in the top 150, but as the cream rises to the top, the late rounds are filled with talent.
Take Varvara Lepchenko: the 37-year-old American is a former top 20 player who played her heart out to defeat a player less than half her age, Liv Hovde, in a resumed third set on Friday where she struggled to win two points in a row. Somehow, she emerged from the set, 7-5, to face Slovakian Martina Okalova less than two hours later. She eased through the first set, but you could feel and hear her exhaustion in the second set tiebreak as she prevailed, 6-4, 7-6(3). She double-faulted on slow second set serves but had just enough to advance to the quarterfinals. Today, we’ll be treated to what is, in effect, a final here with a contest between Lepchenko and Day.
No quarterfinalist should be more rested than 2022 singles champion Louisa Chirico. She advanced after two games yesterday over Allie Kiick in retirement. Chirico was also one of the few lucky players to have played a Tuesday first round match, which she won in straight sets over wild card Ashton Bowers, 6-3, 6-4. Today, Chirico will do business with Valentini Grammatikopoulou with a semis spot on the line.
Australian Maya Joint is the youngest quarterfinalist, and she looks to advance to the semifinals with a win against Hannah Chang. Also, 20-year-old American Elvina Kalieva will meet up with the plucky Lulu Sun of New Zealand. Sun is the only player remaining in both the single and doubles draws. Doubles semifinals matches today include Sun and Fanny Stollar against #1 seeds Quinn Gleason and Emily Appleton, who will face the winner of the match between Jessie Aney/Christina Rosca and the Russian Marias–Kononova and Kozyreva. You know that @Tennis_Shots will be pulling for the pair of Marias today.
—S. Fogleman