WTA 125 Paris: Paquet, Gracheva, and Jacquemot Advance to Round of 16; Anisimova and Boulter Hold Their Ground
At the WTA 125 tournament in Paris, several French players have secured their spots in the round of 16. Chloé Paquet delivered a strong performance to defeat sixth-seeded Kimberly Birrell (7-5, 3-6, 6-3). She will next face Anastasia Zakharova, who overcame Fiona Ferro (6-2, 6-2).
Meanwhile, Varvara Gracheva dominated Louisa Chirico with ease (6-1, 6-2). The top-ranked French player in the WTA standings will take on Hailey Baptiste, after the American eliminated Diane Parry in a three-set battle (3-6, 6-2, 6-3).
Wildcard entrant Ksenia Efremova fell to Kamilla Rakhimova (6-3, 6-3). The third French qualifier, Elsa Jacquemot, who recently turned 22 and entered via qualifying as the world No. 140, staged a comeback against Yuan Yue (3-6, 6-3, 6-3) and will now face Sonay Kartal for a quarterfinal berth. Four Frenchwomen will compete in the round of 16, as Julie Belgraver had already secured her spot on Monday.
Finally, the top two seeds in the French capital held firm in their opening matches on Tuesday. Amanda Anisimova triumphed over Yuliia Starodubtseva (6-1, 6-2), while Katie Boulter eliminated Erika Andreeva (6-4, 6-4).
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