5th seed Sloane Stephens takes on Russian youngster Varvara Gracheva in the quarterfinals of the 2023 ATX Open on Friday.
Sloane Stephens
The experienced campaigner has reached her second consecutive quarterfinal. She has won both her matches with relative ease and will be high on confidence going into the clash with Gracheva. In the round of 32, Stephens eased past fellow American player, Taylor Townsend. The match ended in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 in favor of the 2017 US Open champion who had a win percentage of 78 on the first serve.
In the second round, Stephens got the better of the British qualifier, Heather Watson, in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. Stephens converted 6 out of 10 break points in the encounter.
Varvara Gracheva
The 22-year-old has made it to the quarterfinals for the first time this year. She has had to dig deep in both the matches she has played so far in the ATX Open. In the round of 32, Gracheva fought hard to get past top seed Magda Linette in three sets 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
In the second round, Gracheva played quite well in sets one and three to beat Anna Blinkova 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1. Gracheva managed to convert 7 out of 10 break points in the clash.
Head-to-Head and Prediction
Sloane Stephens and Varvara Gracheva have faced each other a couple of times. They are tied at 1-1 in the head-to-head. They most recently met at the Merida Open last month where Stephens came back from a set down to win 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5).
Prediction: Sloane Stephens to win in three sets.
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