Boar’s Head Resort Women’s Open

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All-American Final at @Cville_USTA Charlottesville With Top Dog Day and Underdog Chirico

Posted by Admin on April 28, 2024
Posted in: Charlottesville, ITF, Virginia. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

Charlottesville, VA–I made the mistake of checking out a betting site yesterday for odds on the matches at the Boar’s Head resort Women’s Open, and I was surprised to see that Louisa Chirico was a big underdog in her match against Maya Joint. Of course, she won in straight sets. She’ll have to beat Vegas again today, as Chirico posts as a +198 underdog against top seed Kayla Day. Both players have had a great week, with Chirico advancing in straight sets against Ashton Brown, two games and a retirement for Allie Kiick, and a tough three setter against Grammatikopoulou before yesterday’s win over Joint.

Day hasn’t dropped a set all week with wins over Yamalapalli, Sophie Chang, Lepchenko and Sun. Yesterday, both finalists cruised over very talented opponents. I expect today’s final to be a close match and I still believe that Chirico is a good value if you are looking to wager on this match.

When a player asks if you are Tennis Atlantic, rather than if you are with Tennis Atlantic, the initial reaction is to deny everything. He left yesterday, I’d tell them. But alas, I fessed up when Kayla Day asked me if I was Tennis Atlantic yesterday. She took exception to a post I’d made a day earlier where I thought I heard her use a four-letter word after a missed drop shot in the quarterfinals. She set the record straight: she doesn’t use that kind of language on court.

Chirico look composed from the opening point in her match against future University of Texas MVP Maya Joint as she broke serve in the first game and never looked back. Her confidence and form is at a year-high rank and I’m not sure the odds makers are yet aware of that. Beating the top seed for a second title here in Charlottesville in three years would certainly set the record straight for her as well.

Tomorrow’s title will write itself this afternoon: it’s either the Kayla Day Show, Day of the Living Kayla, Chirico Comeback Tour or Louisa County Comeback. Louisa County is just East of Charlottesville. Joke’s not funny when you have to explain it.

—S. Fogleman

Day of Reckoning at @Cville_USTA @ITF Charlottesville Singles Semifinals, Doubles Final

Posted by Admin on April 27, 2024
Posted in: Charlottesville, ITF, USTA, USTA Pro Circuit, WTA. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Charlottesville, VA–The business end of the tournament is in full swing as they start to hand the hardware out at the Boar’s Head Resort Women’s Open in Charlottesville on a grey, damp and cool Saturday.

Is this the Kayla Day Show or not? Yesterday was a Kayla Day, as she frustrated former World #19 Vavara Lepchenko in a tense 7-6(6), 7-5 win for Day, Charlottesville’s top seed and the current World #84. No other player here is ranked in the top 160 in singles, so the conventional wisdom is that the title is hers to lose.

She’ll be a -130 favorite against Lulu Sun in the second semifinals match. Sun posted a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 win over Elvina Kalieva of the United States in the quarterfinals.

The big mystery for me here is why Louisa Chirico is such a big underdog against Australian Maya Joint.

Joint is a smaller player with big counterpunches, but Chirico is in form off of last year’s injury. She’s won this tournament before and grew up in a similar Mid-Atlantic climate. She showed poise in a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 comeback win against Valentini Grammatikopoulou yesterday, and I while I expect a close match today, a bettor would have to take a long look at Chirico at +188 with interest.

Doubles hardware is on the line in the first match up. The doubles final features top seeds Emily Appleton and Quinn Gleason against the Russian Marias–Maria Kononova and Maria Kozyreva. The British/American duo of Appleton and Gleason are slight favorites, but the Russians have been punching above their weight all week.

And nobody asked me, but Texas is the big winner this weekend. Lulu Sun is a former Longhorn, and Maya Joint plans to join the Texas Women’s Tennis team this fall. Although a Lone Star showdown isn’t highly likely, it would be one hell of a showcase for the program.

—S. Fogleman

It’s Quarterfinals Friday at @Cville_USTA @BoarsHeadResort Women’s Open in Charlottesville

Posted by Admin on April 26, 2024
Posted in: Charlottesville, ITF, USTA, Virginia. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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