Lulu Sun

All posts tagged Lulu Sun

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