On another sunny day in Charlottesville, we were down to four singles matches. Canada’s Kayla Cross was the only player left in the mix doing the singles/doubles combo. Three of the four matches showcased up-and-coming USA players, with one match featuring compatriots Elizabeth Mandlik and Mary Stoiana. Mexico, Poland and Argentina were still representing with Renata Zarazua, Gina Feistel and Martina Capurro Taborda respectively.
Urhobo struck first en route to a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Kayla Cross. Yesterday, she took the first set at love over Arantxa Rus and nearly squandered the victory, but today she was more composed. She’s coached by Jermaine Jenkins, who has University of Virginia connections. His brother, Jarmere Jenkins, was an All-American here.
Top seed Renata Zarazua also advanced in straights. Yesterday, she dropped the first set and she made sure that didn’t happen today, winning over Gina Feistel, 6-3, 6-2. Zarazua gave a confessional: In her first visit to the Charlottesville a few years back, she went downtown on a rainy day, and unbeknownst to her father on site, got her first tattoo. It was “Believe”. Her Mom apparently knows about it, and I “believe” her Dad will also know about it very soon.
Elizabeth Mandlik is headed to the semifinals after the only three set match of the day, a 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 victor over Mary Stoiana.
The big quarterfinals upset was Kayla Day being upended by Martina Capurro Taborda, 6-4, 6-1, The 3 seed, Day, could not recover after dropping the first set and Capurro Taborda was feeding off of the energy of her two Argentinian compatriots in the stands, Julia Riera and Maria Lourdes Carle. She was a +750 underdog as the match began.
Her post-match exuberance was exactly the kind of thing that makes these events so enjoyable. She couldn’t exactly tell me how she won the match, but Capurro Taborda was happy to be one step closer to winning her first time in the United States.
Akasha Urhobo is press-averse, to say the least. She’s also laser-focused on instructional practices after her matches. I like to see players with a human side, and for that reason, I’m going to pick Martina Capurro over Urhobo today in their semifinal match. Capurro is a +250 underdog. I’ll probably be wrong, but I enjoy players who demonstrate more emotion. Urhobo is too robotic to get behind. With a win, Urhobo would wrap up a French Open main draw wild card.
—S. Fogleman
Tennis Atlantic 
Return Serve?