Gracheva and Jeanjean Join Garcia in the Second Round in Cincinnati

Of the three French players competing in the first round of the WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati this Friday, none were eliminated. While Caroline Garcia, who will retire after the US Open, came back to defeat Sonay Kartal earlier in the day, she won’t be the only Frenchwoman advancing to the second round. Coming through qualifying after wins against Buzarnescu and Jovic, Varvara Gracheva took down another American player, Katie Volynets.

Undefeated in her career against Volynets, Gracheva further improved her record against the world No. 107 with her third win in as many meetings. However, she had to battle hard to secure her spot in the second round but ultimately got the job done (6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in 2 hours and 15 minutes). In the next round, Gracheva will face another American, Sofia Kenin.

Meanwhile, Léolia Jeanjean, who also came through qualifying, delivered a strong performance to defeat Yuliia Starodubtseva. The world No. 95, who trailed 5-2 early in the match, managed to turn things around by winning five straight games to take the first set.

Then, in the decisive third set, she fought back from a double-break deficit to edge out the Ukrainian, ranked 63rd in the world (7-5, 1-6, 6-4 in 3 hours and 4 minutes). Jeanjean will follow up on Saturday with a match against Amanda Anisimova.