Fighting for the Weekend

QUARTERFINAL FRIDAY

And then there were eight. Center Court will play host to all four remaining quarterfinal singles matches with the warm weather promising to be in attendance. Longhorn fans will have a chance to glimpse University of Texas commit Maya Joint in the sole doubles match of the day alongside Longhorn junior Sabina Zeynalova.

SEEDS ABOUT RIGHT

Center Court will kick off featuring two of our top five seeds, as No. 5 Diane Parry takes on No. 1 Anhelina Kalinina. The latter is a fascinating blend of confidence and hunger. She has made very clear her willingness to play anyone, anywhere, while also confessing her incessant need to be on the practice court. She is ready for battle, but also ready to get better. Parry, who was mildly critical of her performance in the Wednesday night win over Kamilla Rakhimova, seemed confident about her chances of making it two straight wins against Kalinina. Confidence will be on display on both sides of the net.  

COMEBACK AND STAY

Danielle Collins, who admitted to feeling less than 100 percent for her round of 16 match, lived up to her nickname Danimal. With Katie Volynets up a set and serving for the match, all signs seemed to suggest that Thursday’s match would be Collins’ last in Austin. Clearly Danielle had a different idea of what her ATX goodbye should look like. The Virginia Cavalier fought the cold temperatures and some physical discomfort to stage a gutty comeback, winning 6-0 in the third. Next up she faces the No. 6 seed Wang Xiyu. The in-form 22-year-old took out Latvian Darja Semenistaja in straightforward fashion and will be looking to reach the second semifinal of her season. It would appear the “Danielle Diamond Tour” continues. 

FOUR REAL

One hour and 12 minutes is all it took for Wonder Mom Anastasija Sevastova to notch her second consecutive win against Sloane Stephens. The Latvian is playing in only her fourth tournament since giving birth to Alexandra in December 2022 and is in her fourth quarterfinal. Somehow she is managing to temper her expectations and take things one match at a time. Sevastova’s opponent will be Anna Karolina Schmiedlova. Hopefully the friendly Austin crowd will not hold a grudge against the soft-spoken Slovak who has defeated Americans Peyton Stearns and Sachia Vickery to get to this stage. 

SPOILER ALERT

We can predict with certainty the winner of the night’s last match between Wang Yafan and Yuan Yue will be…Chinese tennis! After her last win, Yuan reveled in being one of her three countrywomen in the quarterfinals. She spoke of how meaningful that representation is for her nation’s younger athletes. When the two faced off seven years ago, Yuan was forced to retire with injury. Can someone say unfinished business?